CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Asbestos

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will list the buildings occupied by his departmental and agency staff which require (a) remedial work on and (b) removal of asbestos; what this work will cost; what budgets are available for this work for (i) 2004 and (ii) 2005; and what budget is available for future asbestos surveys.

David Lammy: My Department has 14 buildings that require remedial work and three buildings which require the removal of asbestos. These are:
	Remedial work
	Inner London Sessions House,
	Royal Courts of Justice,
	Technology and Construction Court,
	Bow County Court,
	Clerkenwell County Court,
	Romford County Court,
	Willesden County Court,
	Woolwich County Court,
	Ilford County Court,
	West London County Court,
	Edmonton County Court,
	Brentford County Court,
	Wandsworth County Court,
	Shoreditch County Court
	Removal work
	Epsom County Court,
	Swansea Crown Court (Guildhall),
	Selborne House
	The remedial works have a budget cost of £150,000 and the removal works a budget cost of £70,000. All remedial and removal works are scheduled to be completed by 31 March 2005. Future asbestos surveys will be funded from existing building maintenance budgets.

Asbestos

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what proportion of buildings occupied by (a) staff of the Department and (b) staff of the Department's executive agencies have been surveyed for the purpose of identifying asbestos prior to the implementation of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002.

David Lammy: My Department will have had all of its HQ estate buildings surveyed for the purpose of identifying asbestos prior to the full implementation of the CAWR 2002. 72 per cent. of the Court Service estate has been surveyed to date with the balance due to be completed in the financial year 2004–05.

Costs Orders

Paul Keetch: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what rules are set out regarding costs orders in relation to cases involving children; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: The approach to costs contained in the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 now applies to all family proceedings, including private law proceedings relating to children. The court has discretion to make orders as to whether costs are payable by one party to another, and generally takes the approach that the unsuccessful party will be ordered to pay some or all of the costs of the successful party. The court may, however, make a different order and frequently will consider it appropriate to make no order for costs. In deciding what order, if any, to make about costs the court will consider all the circumstances of the case, including the conduct of the parties.

Courts (London)

Mark Field: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what discussions he (a) has had and (b) plans to have with representatives of the Greater London Magistrates' Court Association about court provision across London in advance of the formation of the unified courts authority in 2004; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: I have had discussions with representatives from the Greater London Magistrates' Courts Authority (GLMCA) about court provision across London on 15 July 2003. Presently I have no further meetings arranged but would be happy to do so if required. Officials from my Department working in the Unified Courts Administration Programme have regular discussions with both the acting Justices' Chief Executive and other senior managers of the GLMCA on all matters including court provision.

Ministerial Speeches

Keith Vaz: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many speeches he made between 9 June 2003 and 1 February 2004; and where a copy of each speech can be obtained.

Christopher Leslie: The Ministerial Team at DCA made 84 policy speeches during this period. Those speeches where a transcript was available can be found on the DCA website at www.dca.gov.uk.

WALES

Asbestos

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the buildings occupied by his staff which require (a) remedial work on and (b) removal of asbestos; what this work will cost; what budgets are available for this work for (i) 2004 and (ii) 2005; and what budget is available for future asbestos surveys.

Don Touhig: A complete asbestos survey of the Wales Office was conducted in 2002. The Wales Office is now compliant with 2002 regulations and no further work is required.
	The cost of any future surveys or work required would be met from existing maintenance budgets.

Asbestos

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of buildings occupied by his staff have been surveyed for the purpose of identifying the presence of asbestos prior to the implementation of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002.

Don Touhig: The Wales Office arranged for a complete asbestos survey in 2002. Subsequently, all the recommendations of the survey have been undertaken, so the Wales Office is compliant with the 2002 regulations.

Welsh Economy

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give a forecast for growth for the Welsh economy for the next three years.

Peter Hain: Wales is seeing real economic growth, shown by increasing numbers of jobs; rising employment and falling unemployment; the third highest rise in earnings in Britain in 2002–03 and the progress made in closing the gap on economic inactivity.
	Furthermore, Welsh GDP grew by 15.6 per cent. between 1997 and 2001
	Based on this evidence and projections for UK growth Wales' economic growth seems set to continue in the future.

TRANSPORT

Asbestos

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will list the buildings occupied by his Department's staff, including agencies, which require (a) remedial work on and (b) the removal of asbestos; what that work will cost; what budgets are available for this work for (i) 2004 and (ii) 2005; and what budget is available for future asbestos surveys;
	(2)  what proportion of buildings occupied by (a) staff of the Department and (b) staff of the Department's executive agencies have been surveyed for the purpose of identifying the presence of asbestos prior to implementation of the control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002.

Tony McNulty: An updated list of the number of DfT properties identified as containing asbestos has been placed in the Libraries of the House. In terms of numbers of properties these represent some 20 per cent. of the total DfT estate but they mostly comprise small operational buildings.
	The responsibility for taking action to comply with the requirements of the Control of Asbestos Work Regulations 2002 are delegated to the managers of the individual property centres within the Department. The action taken will depend on the nature of the property centres' occupancy of the buildings, whether or not asbestos has been found, where it is located and its quantity.
	Although there are a number of buildings which do contain asbestos it does not follow that it poses a risk to staff or visitors because risks vary according to the type of asbestos present and how it is managed. Where asbestos has been found its existence has been entered onto asbestos registers and specialist consultants or contractors handle its management or removal.
	Comprehensive information on the costs and budgets relating to asbestos surveys and works in each of the identified buildings and the nature of the works involved is not readily available without incurring disproportionate cost. However, we have identified that across the Department at least £204,500 has been allocated to be spent on remedial works and surveys during 2004–05.

Rail Compensation

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to change the compensation arrangements for rail passengers suffering (a) delays and (b) cancellations.

Tony McNulty: Compensation for delays and cancellations to passengers will be paid under the conditions of each train operating company's Passengers Charter. In tendering for the renewal of franchises, the Strategic Rail Authority will ensure that the conditions of the train operator's Passengers Charter are subject to competitive pressure and will be taken into account in the franchise award evaluation criteria.

Transport Spending

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Government have spent to date on the spending commitments set out in the 10-year plan on (a) roads, broken down by (i) strategic, (ii) local and (iii) London (b) railways, (c) London Underground and (d) all other transport; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Tables A2 and A3 of the Department's 2003 Annual Report (Cm 5907) provide data on transport spending from funds within DfT's Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL). Spending on strategic roads is separately identified under 'Roads (includes Highways Agency)' whilst spending on local authority roads is included within the figures in the 'Transport in London' and 'Local Transport' lines. With the exception of funding for major road schemes in England out side London, it is a matter for local authorities to decide what proportion of their funding allocation is spent on roads. Outturn expenditure on local roads is published in the progress reports, accounts or other corporate documents of individual authorities but is not held centrally. Expenditure on railways, London Underground and other transport is separately identified in the Department's Annual Report.
	In addition to funding provided from DfT's DEL, local authorities receive revenue funding for transport through ODPM's Formula Spending Share (FSS) process. We estimate that authorities spent approximately £2.76 billion of their FSS allocation on transport in 2001–02 and £2.83 billion in 2002–03.

DEFENCE

Continuous Attitudes Survey

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what questions concerning overstretch were asked in the 2003 editions of the Continuous Attitudes Survey for the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) RAF; and if he will publish the answers;
	(2)  what questions concerning equipment were asked in the 2003 editions of the Continuous Attitudes Survey for the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) RAF; and if he will publish the answers;
	(3)  what questions concerning contractualisation were asked in the 2003 editions of the Continuous Attitudes Survey for the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) RAF; and if he will publish the answers;
	(4)  what questions concerning nationality were asked in the 2003 editions of the Continuous Attitudes Survey for the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) RAF; and if he will publish the answers.

Ivor Caplin: Copies of the questions asked in the Services' Continuous Attitude Surveys are available in the Library of the House.

Continuous Attitudes Survey

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many responses the Royal Navy Continuous Attitudes Survey received for the consultation round launched in September 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: In September 2003 the administration for the Royal Navy Continuous Attitude Survey (CAS) recorded the following: 2,000 Questionnaires were distributed, 107 were returned 'addressee unknown' and 946 were returned completed.
	In September 2003 the administration for the Royal Marines CAS recorded the following: 1,027 Questionnaires were distributed, 23 were returned 'addressee unknown' and 409 were returned completed.

Continuous Attitudes Survey

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many responses the Army Continuous Attitudes Survey received for the consultation round launched in December 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: The latest Army Serving Personnel Continuous Attitude Survey was distributed in December 2003 to 5,040 individuals. As at 4 March, 2,168 responses had been received.

Eurofighter Typhoon

Michael Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department had meetings in the last nine months with BAE personnel to discuss the order for the Second Tranche of Eurofighter Typhoons; when the meetings took place; who attended; and what representations he has received from the other partners in this project on the ordering of Tranche II.

Geoff Hoon: Ministers and officials have had many meetings with BAE Systems personnel in the last nine months at which the order for the second Tranche of Typhoons has been discussed. Regular meetings have also taken place with our partner nations in the project as part of the ongoing commercial and international negotiations on the same subject.

Forces (Overseas Postings)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) regular service and (b) Territorial Army personnel are serving overseas.

Ivor Caplin: Some 36,000 British service personnel are serving overseas, including some 1,200 members of the Territorial Army.

Gulf War Illness

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 23 February 2004, Official Report, columns 11–12W, to the hon. Member for Taunton (Mr. Flook), on Gulf War illness, if he will publish a description of the monitoring tests for depleted uranium to which he refers.

Ivor Caplin: The tests involve chemical processing of urine samples and analysis using inductive coupled plasma mass spectrometry. This reveals both the total concentration of uranium in the urine and the relative amounts of its two principal isotopes, 238U and 235U. The Depleted Uranium Oversight Board has judged that, taking into account experimental uncertainty, a 238U/235U ratio of 142 or higher indicates the presence of depleted uranium. A pilot exercise will soon be underway to evaluate the logistic arrangements for the testing process and to establish whether urine samples collected over a 24-hour period or single ("spot") samples are more appropriate. If reliable results can be obtained from spot samples, they will be used for the main testing programme as they are more convenient for the donor.

Military Bases (Contamination)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what studies have been commissioned by his Department into (a) the degree of contamination and (b) the prospects for remedial action at military bases in (i) the United Kingdom and (ii) dependent territories abroad.

Ivor Caplin: To date, over 500 Land Quality Assessments (LQA) have been prepared across the Defence estate since 1995 to identify the degree and extent of contaminated land, predominantly in the United Kingdom, but also in dependent territories such as Gibraltar and Cyprus. LQA identify potentially contaminative site activities. Studies are prioritised, e.g. on sites in proximity to vulnerable aquifers, or where contamination is known or suspected. This process determines remedial options.
	Current Ministry of Defence policy is to undertake remediation of contaminated land where there is significant risk to human health or the environment and it is practical or necessary to remove all contamination from a site. This may be confined to the removal of radioactive contamination or other defence specific contaminants, wherein the MOD's environmental specialists (or specialist consultants) and the environmental regulators work closely together to establish the extent to which the land is to be decontaminated.
	The MOD seeks to ensure compliance with relevant statutory environmental provisions and any additional requirements arising from international treaties and protocols to which the UK is a signatory. Overseas, the Department will apply UK standards where reasonably practicable and, in addition, comply with host nation standards. This ensures resources are used efficiently and land is being managed in the best interests of good environmental performance and sustainable development.

Military Bases (Contamination)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what studies his Department has commissioned on the levels of (a) toxic and (b) other pollution at military bases in the UK; and what publications his Department has issued in this respect since May 1997;
	(2)  how many locations there are where there is recorded contamination (a) at and (b) from military bases, broken down by (i) location, (ii) nature of contamination, (iii) remedial works taken or planned and (iv) the financial cost of contamination; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Recruitment

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost of recruitment of civil servants for the Department was in each financial year since 1996–97, broken down by (a) delegated or contracted out recruitment procedures and (b) recruitment procedures carried out by the Department.

Ivor Caplin: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to work with the governments of (a) Kazakhstan, (b) Turkmenistan, (c) Tajikistan and (d) Pakistan to stabilise wheat prices in Afghanistan; and what assessment he has made of the impact of wheat prices on stability within Afghanistan.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: We are working with the Afghan Government to assist them to build good relationships with all their neighbouring countries on a range of issues. To this end the Good Neighbourly Relations Declaration was signed in December 2002 between the Afghan Government and the six countries with which they share a common border. Discussions within this group encompass a range of issues, including trade.
	Since the fall of the Taliban the cost of wheat in Afghanistan has fallen, partly due to aid agencies bringing in much needed food aid but also as a result of the break in the drought, which led to an 80 per cent., increase in the harvest. Discussions took place last year between my department, the Afghan Government and the aid agencies regarding the impact of wheat prices on the country. At that time it was noted that local purchase of wheat by aid agencies would increase its price and while this might have a positive impact for farmers it would also increase the market price for ordinary Afghans. The outcome of the discussions was a plan for WFP to procure 10,000 metric tons of wheat locally in 2004.

Bilateral Aid

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much bilateral aid the UK gave to (a) Armenia, (b) Azerbaijan and (c) Georgia in 2003.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The UK gave the following bilateral aid in 2003:
	(a) Armenia: £1,933,221
	(b) Azerbaijan: £182,730
	(c) Georgia: £2,092,989

Burundi

David Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures are being taken to reduce the use of child soldiers in Burundi.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The UK condemns unequivocally the use of child soldiers. We work closely with others in the international community including the UN to end the use of child soldiers. This includes support for a UNICEF programme to improve advocacy on the situation of children affected by armed conflict at all levels. The UK is also supporting a UN Security Council resolution on Children and Armed Conflict (currently under discussion) which calls on all parties to, inter alia, produce time-bound action plans to halt the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict.
	We are working actively within the international community to achieve a full peace settlement in Burundi and the implementation of a comprehensive disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programme. We have committed US $25 million for the Multi-Country Demobilisation and Reintegration Programme for the Great Lakes Region. A national child soldier reintegration project has begun to implement activities and to date 400 child soldiers have been demobilised. Funds from this will be used in Burundi for a special project managed by UNICEF to demobilise child soldiers and reintegrate them into their home communities.

Commission for Africa

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what payment will be made to those who will sit on the Commission for Africa; and how this will be funded.

Hilary Benn: Commissioners will not receive payment for sitting on the Commission for Africa. Travel and subsistence costs incurred on Commission work will be reimbursed from the budget allocated to the Commission by the Department for International Development.

Jamaica

Joyce Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid was given by the Government to Jamaica in each year since 1992, expressed in real terms.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: UK bilateral aid provided to Jamaica since 1992 is as follows:
	
		(Real terms 2002–03 = 100.00 total gross public expenditure)
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1992–93 6.395 
			 1993–94 7.959 
			 1994–95 4.213 
			 1995–96 12.042 
			 1996–97 11.215 
			 1997–98 3.573 
			 1998–99 11.130 
			 1999–2000 9.710 
			 2000–01 8.945 
			 2001–02 9.263 
			 2002–03 10.708 
		
	
	The UK also provided aid to Jamaica through the multilateral agencies over this period. The imputed multilateral share is as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1992 1.0 
			 1993 0.3 
			 1994 3.7 
			 1995 4.1 
			 1996 6.2 
			 1997 7.6 
			 1998 9.9 
			 1999 0.0 
			 2000 4.5 
			 2001 5.1

Uzbekistan

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress Uzbekistan has made towards meeting the human rights goals set out by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is currently reviewing Uzbekistan's progress towards seven benchmarks for political and economic reform set out in the EBRD Strategy for Uzbekistan of March 2003. These include provisions in the area of human rights.
	A mission of EBRD Directors recently visited Uzbekistan to review developments. They held discussions with the government, local and international NGOs, donors, local business and diplomatic community. The mission noted that some progress has been made on human rights, but much remains to be done. Detailed conclusions from the mission and the next steps for EBRD will be discussed by the full Board later this month.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Common Funding Formula

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the Common Funding Formula will be introduced; what the reasons are for the delay in introducing it; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: Following consultation with schools, which will be undertaken within the next few months, we aim to implement the Common Funding Formula in April 2005.
	The decision to delay the implementation date for the introduction of new arrangements for funding schools was taken after very careful consideration of the issues and in particular the need to ensure that schools have sufficient opportunity to comment on the proposed outcomes. The consultation was due to commence in autumn 2003 but delays, including those related to the collation of verified data needed for this process, meant this would have provided very little time not only for schools to consider the details for this major change in schools funding but also for any issues arising to be fully considered.
	The revised timetable offers the opportunity to take account of refinements needed as a result of the consultation process and of any changes which may be necessary in the future as a result of recommendations made by the Post-Primary Review Working Group and also the CCEA Review of the Curriculum.

Fencing

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether (a) Lottery money and (b) public funds have been used, directly or indirectly, to send fencers representing the Republic of Ireland to (i) competitions in (A) Italy and (B) Germany, (ii) world championships and (iii) training camps in Eastern Europe.

Angela Smith: Both (a) Lottery money and (b) public funds, have been used to fund fencers who have represented the Republic of Ireland in (i) competitions in (A) Italy and (B) Germany, (ii) world championships and (iii) training camps in Eastern Europe.

Fencing

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding the sport of fencing has received in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: The sport of fencing has received the following Exchequer funding:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1999–2000 3,500 
			 2000–01 3,500 
			 2001–02 3,500 
			 2002–03 7,525 
			 2003–04 14,300 
		
	
	The sport of fencing has received the following Lottery funding:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1999–2000 18,000 
			 2000–01 67,320 
			 2001–02 9,720 
			 2002–03 8,080 
			 2003–04 14,240

Fencing

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many fencers are on the Talented Athlete Next Generation programme in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: There are five fencers on the Talented Athlete Next Generation Programme.

Fencing

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many fencers from Northern Ireland in receipt of United Kingdom Talented Athlete Funding have competed for a country other than the United Kingdom.

Angela Smith: There are no fencers in receipt of United Kingdom Talented Athlete funding that have competed for a country other than the United Kingdom.

Funding

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much (a) lottery funding and (b) public funds have been allocated to Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: The Sports Council is responsible for the distribution of funding for sport in Northern Ireland. The total amount of (a) public funds and (b) lottery funding allocated by the Sports Council in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 Public funds  
			 1999–2000 2,406,970 
			 2000–01 4,423,988 
			 2001–02 3,536,324 
			 2002–03 5,276,074 
			 2003–04(1) 7,472,075 
			 Total 23,115,431 
			   
			 Lottery Funding  
			 1999–2000 7,218,436 
			 2000–01 7,585,022 
			 2001–02 8,254,768 
			 2002–03 7,300,142 
			 2003–04(2) 5,111,326 
			 Total 35,469,694 
		
	
	(1) Estimated to 31 March 2004
	(2) 1 April 2003 to 31 January 2004

Manufacturing (De-rating)

David Trimble: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the impact the phasing out of de-rating on manufacturing industries will have on (a) revenue, (b) profitability, (c) costs and (d) employment within the industry; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: Our assessment on the likely impact of the phasing out of industrial de-rating on the manufacturing industry in Northern Ireland (NI) came from a variety of different sources; for example, studies by DTZ Pieda, Invest NI as well as evidence presented during the public consultation exercise in 2002 by the Enterprise, Trade and Investment and Finance and Personnel Assembly Committees, the CBI and local economists. The policy paper published in April last year included the Regulatory Impact Assessment, New TSN and Equality Impact Assessments. All this evidence was summarised, analysed and considered objectively and the various options were discussed openly with representatives of the business community before a final decision was made.
	In terms of revenue, the estimated long-term yield from the rating of the manufacturing sector is around £55 million a year and I refer you to my earlier answer of 23 February 2004, Official Report, column 165W, for fuller detail.
	In relation to the specific impact on profitability, costs and employment within the industry, a sudden withdrawal of de-rating could have a potentially detrimental impact on manufacturing business and this is why it is proposed to phase the removal of industrial de-rating from 1 April 2005 with businesses not paying full rates until April 2011. This lengthy phasing out period should ensure that no sustainable jobs are lost. Furthermore, the intention to introduce a hardship scheme that will apply to all businesses where exceptional circumstances exist and work on Government proposals to reduce electricity costs for business are further mitigating measures which will help manufacturing absorb the removal of de-rating.

Money Advice

David Trimble: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken by the (a) Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment and (b) Department of Social Development to modernise the provision of Money Advice; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Consumer Strategy for Northern Ireland was published in March 2002. As a result, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment commissioned research into the provision of a suitable framework for the delivery of effective money advice in Northern Ireland. This is now being taken forward within the context of the Department for Social Development's Information and Advice strategy, which is scheduled to be published for consultation in May 2004.

Senior Civil Servant Pay

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the percentage pay award to Northern Ireland senior civil servants was which came into effect on 1 April 2003.

Ian Pearson: The 2003 increase in pay bill cost for Senior Civil Servants in the 11 Departments of the Northern Ireland Administration was 5.37 per cent. The amount received by an individual depended on performance ranking and position on the payband. A separate pay system exists for the Senior Civil Service with increases made on the basis of recommendations made by the independent Senior Salaries Review Body. Unlike other staff groups the Senior Civil Service pay award process does not involve negotiations with trade unions.

Sunbeds

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many public leisure facilities in Northern Ireland are equipped with sunbeds; what his Department's policy is on the provision of sunbeds in public leisure facilities in Northern Ireland; and what plans he has to phase out the use of sunbeds in public leisure facilities in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: There is no central register of facilities, including sunbeds, provided at public leisure centres and this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	District councils have statutory responsibility for the provision of facilities for recreational, social, physical and cultural activities in their areas. The decision whether or not to provide sunbeds in public leisure centres is a matter for each council.

Ulster Scots

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what margin of error is applied in Northern Ireland to measure demand for Ulster Scots.

Angela Smith: The 1999 Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey (NILT) sought to identify the percentage of the Northern Ireland population that spoke Ulster Scots. The questions used in this survey have a margin of error for all sample estimates within the parameters of ±3 per cent.
	An example is shown as follows:
	
		
			  (%) speak Ulster Scots Standard error of (%) 95% Confidence limits 
		
		
			 All 2.0 0.30 1.4–2.6 
			 
			 Gender
			 Men 2.7 0.56 1.6–3.8 
			 Women 1.4 0.28 0.9–1.9 
			 
			 Age
			 18–24 0.8 0.64 0–2.1 
			 25–34 1.6 0.67 0.3–2.9 
			 35–44 2.0 0.66 0.7–3.3 
			 45–54 2.0 0.75 0.5–3.5 
			 55–64 1.7 0.82 0.1–3.3 
			 65+ 2.9 0.83 1.3–4.5 
			
			 Religion
			 Catholics 1.2 0.35 0.5- 1.9 
			 Protestants 2.1 0.43 1.3–2.9 
			 No religion 3.4 1.19 1.1–5.7

Ulster Scots

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many attitudinal surveys he has received from bodies other than the Department of Education to measure the demand for the Ulster Scots language and culture in Northern Ireland; and from whom.

Angela Smith: I am aware of three exercises that have been carried out that might be termed attitudinal surveys to measure the demand for Ulster-Scots. These are:
	Questions in the 1999 Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey (NILT),
	Questions in the 2000 and 2001 Omnibus survey (RES) and
	A research report undertaken in 2002 by Dunne, Dawson and Morgan.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Licensing Authorities

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list for each licensing authority in England (a) the cost of and (b) the expenditure on liquor and entertainment licensing in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and for each prospective licensing authority and for England what estimate she has made of the annual (i) cost of and (ii) income from liquor and entertainment licensing after implementation of the Licensing Act 2003.

Richard Caborn: No figures are kept centrally for the annual cost of, and the annual expenditure on, liquor and entertainment licensing by local authority area. Local authorities have no current responsibility for liquor licensing and fee income goes to the courts. The new arrangements under the Licensing Act 2003 will integrate six existing licensing regimes: liquor, public entertainment, theatre, cinema, late night refreshment and night cafe licensing. We estimate that the income from all these regimes collectively is about £36.8 million annually for England and Wales, if renewal fee income is spread across the period of the renewal (which varies). We estimate that the actual cost of the six regimes to the courts and local authorities involved is approximately £69.3 million annually. Estimates of future expenditure under the new arrangements set out in the Licensing Act 2003 are currently being considered. No final decisions have yet been taken about fee levels and these will affect total income. Fee levels will be set so as to permit full recovery of the costs of administration, inspection and enforcement associated with the licensing regime.

Licensing Authorities

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the timetable is for the transfer of licensing powers from magistrates to local authorities; when she intends to publish national guidance relating to the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: We will be laying the draft Guidance before both Houses for approval shortly. The start of the transitional period, during which existing licence holders may apply to the licensing authorities to convert their existing licences to new premises licences and club premises certificates, is expected to be approximately six months after the date on which Parliament approves the Guidance. During this period of six months, licensing authorities will prepare and publish their statements of licensing policy. The transitional period is expected to last for nine months and, as a result, the Licensing Act is expected to be fully implemented by mid 2005.

Private Finance Initiative

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how her Department's £150 million of PFI credits for the spending review period 2003–04 to 2005–06 are being allocated.

Richard Caborn: DCMS is using its allocation of £150 million PFI credits for the spending review of 2003–04 to 2005–06 to support 16 PFI schemes in the following areas:
	
		£ million
		
			 Nature of scheme PFI credits allocated Recipient authorities 
		
		
			 Community facilities (as part of wider schools projects, e.g. leisure facilities, theatre, library) (3)26.594 Sheffield borough council, Liverpool City council, Telford and Wrekin borough council, Croydon (London borough), South Tyneside council  
			 Sports/Leisure 60.097 Brent council, Wolverhampton City council, Redbridge (London borough), Shepway district council, Rotherham borough council 
			 Libraries/Archives 67.277 Oldham borough council, Cambridgeshire district council, Newcastle City council, Liverpool City council, Rochdale borough council 
			 Theatre 9.8 Bournemouth borough council 
			 Total (4)163.768 16 PFI schemes 
		
	
	(3) All joint funded with DfES.
	(4) This figure is higher than £150 million PFI credits allocated within the 2003–04 to 2005–06 spending review as some additional credits were rolled over from the previous financial year. These were not allocated to one scheme in particular but were added to the overall sum available for allocation to new schemes during the 2003–04 to 2005–06 spending review.

School Sports

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans her Department has to issue joint guidance with the Department for Education and Skills on the ideal specification for sports facilities for a secondary school.

Richard Caborn: At present, Sport England publishes detailed guidance on developing sports facilities on school sites. The guidance deals with the inception, construction, and management of these facilities.
	The Department will continue to work closely with the Department for Education and Skills and Sport England to consider what further steps should be taken to ensure that secondary schools are given appropriate guidance on the provision of sports facilities.

Village Halls

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding was given to village halls by the National Lottery in each year since its inception.

Estelle Morris: Since the introduction of the 1998 Lottery Act and changes to policy directions, we have encouraged distributors to work together to make Lottery funding more accessible and to support projects aimed at developing communities. Village halls and other community buildings encourage community spirit and help ensure the survival of many local interest groups.
	There is currently no specific funding strand for village halls although many community buildings have benefited from National Lottery grants. The Community Fund is the main Lottery funder of community buildings and the following table shows the awards it has granted to community buildings since the start of the Lottery. In a stand alone programme, the Millennium Commission also awarded over £65.8 million to village halls and a breakdown is shown in the second table below. (This figure does not include urban community centres and includes the monies given to village halls as enhancement grants in 2003.) Other Lottery distributors have also awarded grants to village halls although these figures cannot be separately identified and displayed.
	
		Grants awarded by the Community Fund to projects involving community building
		
			  Applications Amount requested (£) Awards Amount awarded (£) Success rate (Percentage) 
		
		
			 1995–96 250 11,983,973.00 31 1,194,336.00 12 
			 1996–97 230 11,552,453.00 23 1,013,664.00 10 
			 1997–98 702 60,412,623.00 175 9,266,546.00 25 
			 1998–99 503 42,409,794.00 314 23,993,258.00 62 
			 1999–2000 523 56,379,485.00 306 27,828,022.00 59 
			 2000–01 497 66,603,473.00 196 21,292,221.00 39 
			 2001–02 435 59,909,111.00 158 17,085,082.00 36 
			 2002–03 457 58,776,770.00 142 14,420,027.00 31 
			 2003- 179 39,278,168.00 64 5,850,851 .00 36 
			 Total 3,776 407,305,850.00 1,409 121,944,007.00 37 
			 Awards for all 4,510 17,202,623.00 3,100 11,763,805.00 69 
			 Grand total 8,286 424,508,473.00 4,509 133,707,812.00 54 
		
	
	
		Grants awarded by the Millennium Commission to village hall projects
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1995 6,583,774 
			 1996 35,390,498 
			 1997 21,046,235 
			 1998 1,431 ,924 
			 Subtotal 64,452,431 
			 2003 1,426,648 
			 Grand total 65,879,079

Websites

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total annual cost of her Department's websites, including those of its agencies, was in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Richard Caborn: The total annual cost in 2003–04, covering all 12 of the Department's websites and that of the Royal Parks Agency, was £62,000 including VAT.

Westminster Hall

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make it her policy to have senior Ministers reply to debates in Westminster Hall.

Richard Caborn: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House on 8 March 2004, Official Report, column 1234W.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Business Link

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 27 February 2004, Official Report, column 588W, on Business Link, what the value is of the contracts offered by the Small Business Service to (a) BL Derbyshire, (b) BL Tees Valley and (c) BL Bedfordshire; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The value of the Business Link Operator (BLO) Core Service funding allocation for 2003–04 is as follows.
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 BL Derbyshire 2,502,742 
			 BL Tees Valley 1,460,480 
			 BL Bedfordshire 1,515,800 
		
	
	I have nothing further to add to my hon. Friend's answer of 27 February 2004, Official Report, column 588W.

Business Link

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to make available the independent audit reports of Business Link operators.

Nigel Griffiths: The independent audit reports of Business Link Operators are commercially restricted.

Business Link

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which Business Link Operators have been required to undergo a business performance review.

Nigel Griffiths: Further to the five Business Link Operators named given to the hon. Member on 27 February 2004, Official Report, columns 588–89W, the following Business Link Operators have also been required to undergo a Business Performance Review:
	BL Leicestershire
	BL Northamptonshire Chamber Business Enterprise (Manchester)
	BL South Yorkshire.

Business Statistics

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many new businesses have been registered in (a) London and (b) Wales, broken down by local authority, in each of the past three years.

Nigel Griffiths: holding answer 3 March 2004
	The official measure of business start-up activity in the UK is VAT registrations. However, businesses are unlikely to be registered if they fall below the compulsory VAT threshold which has risen in each year since 1997. Only 1.8 million out of the estimated 3.8 million enterprises in the UK were registered for VAT in 2002.
	Value Added Tax (VAT) registration data are available up to 2002. Data for 2003 will not be available until autumn 2004.
	VAT registration rates per 10,000 resident adults (aged 16 and over) are shown to allow fair comparisons between areas. The numbers and rates of businesses registering for VAT in each London borough and Welsh unitary authority, in each calendar year are as follows:
	
		VAT registrations
		
			  Number Rate per 10,000 resident adults 
			  2000 2001 2002 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 United Kingdom 184,035 174,620 175,800 39 37 37 
			
			 London 37,760 34,385 33,490 67 59 57 
			
			 Inner London 20,955 18,820 18,195 96 82 78 
			
			 City of London 1,460 1,110 1,015 2,345 1,653 1,428 
			
			 Camden 2,260 1,910 1,910 142 112 110 
			 Hackney 1,230 1,035 1,025 81 65 63 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,250 1,205 1,100 94 85 75 
			 Haringey 985 910 840 58 51 46 
			 Islington 1,380 1,245 1,230 97 84 82 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 1,330 1,025 1,095 105 74 78 
			 Lambeth 920 895 925 43 40 42 
			 Lewisham 640 640 575 33 32 28 
			 Newham 605 580 550 34 31 29 
			 Southwark 1,135 1,110 975 59 55 48 
			 Tower Hamlets 1,115 1,025 1,005 75 65 62 
			 Wandsworth 1,200 1,200 1,180 56 53 52 
			 Westminster 5,455 4,925 4,775 360 304 288 
			
			 Outer London 16,415 15,420 15,270 47 43 43 
			
			 Barking and Dagenham 390 365 335 31 29 26 
			 Barnet 1,865 1,540 1,515 76 60 59 
			 Bexley 600 620 545 35 36 31 
			 Brent 1,205 1,125 1,040 59 52 47 
			 Bromley 960 970 955 41 41 40 
			 Croydon 1,005 985 1,000 39 37 38 
			 Ealing 1,250 1,205 1,195 53 49 48 
			 Enfield 900 820 875 42 37 39 
			 Greenwich 545 510 510 33 30 29 
			 Harrow 935 905 930 57 54 55 
			 Havering 640 640 615 36 36 34 
			 Hillingdon 875 760 840 46 39 43 
			 Hounslow 820 880 825 49 51 47 
			 Kingston upon Thames 620 580 560 53 48 46 
			 Merton 780 685 615 52 44 39 
			 Redbridge 860 760 725 46 40 38 
			 Richmond upon Thames 995 920 1,010 72 65 71 
			 Sutton 510 525 510 36 36 36 
			 Waltham Forest 665 625 660 39 36 37 
			
			 Wales 6,310 5,985 6,110 27 26 26 
			
			 Isle of Anglesey 125 125 135 23 23 25 
			 Gwynedd 290 260 285 31 28 30 
			 Conwy 265 230 240 30 26 27 
			 Denbighshire 205 220 200 28 29 26 
			 Flintshire 345 330 365 29 28 31 
			 Wrexham 255 235 240 25 23 23 
			 Powys 420 360 390 41 35 38 
			 Ceredigion 170 185 185 27 30 29 
			 Pembrokeshire 305 270 270 34 30 30 
			 Carmarthenshire 405 370 420 29 26 30 
			 Swansea 450 475 430 25 26 24 
			 Neath Port Talbot 190 200 195 18 19 18 
			 Bridgend 250 255 235 25 25 23 
			 The Vale of Glamorgan 285 235 310 30 25 33 
			 Cardiff 800 775 790 33 32 32 
			 Rhondda Cynon Taff 355 350 355 .19 19 19 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 75 70 55 17 16 12 
			 Caerphilly 240 250 265 18 19 20 
			 Blaenau Gwent 90 70 75 16 13 14 
			 Torfaen 150 140 120 21 20 17 
			 Monmouthshire 270 275 260 40 40 38 
			 Newport 305 290 275 29 27 25 
		
	
	Source:
	Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994–2002, Small Business Service.

Defence Exports

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has made to the US Administration about (a) requirements to produce US defense equipment in the USA, (b) restrictions on foreign content in defence exports with military sales support, (c) technology export controls and (d) limits on control of US subsidiaries by UK companies; and what the outcome of such representations has been.

Geoff Hoon: I have been asked to reply.
	Ministerial colleagues and I expressed concerns last year about legislative proposals before Congress to impose further restrictions on overseas procurements to meet the United States' defense requirements. The legislation subsequently enacted did not include the proposals of most concern to us. Steps are regularly taken to press the case for United Kingdom companies to receive fair access to programmes for the supply of US-sourced equipment for third parties under foreign military sales arrangements. The licensing of US technology for export to the UK has been discussed with the US Administration in the context of proposals for a UK waiver from the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
	On this I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 18 December 2003, Official Report, column 1066W. The matter of controls on foreign investment in the US has recently been raised with the US Administration by DTI Ministers. The Administration has given reassurances that the US would take proper account of the UK/US relationship in their case-by-case consideration.

Iraq

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 23 February 2004, Official Report, column 54W, on Iraqi oil, if she will list, by month, (a) the volume of Iraqi oil sold since May 2003, (b) the amount paid for the oil and (c) the amount received by the Development Fund for Iraq; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 9 March 2004
	Information on the amount of Iraqi oil produced each month is given in Table 1 as follows. Information on the amount paid for the oil is not publicly available. As of 4 March 2004, US $6.15 billion of oil proceeds had been received by the Development Fund for Iraq. This information is available through the CPA website at www.cpa-iraq.org/budget/DFI intro1.html
	
		Table 1: Iraqi oil production -- Million barrels per day
		
			  Net production(5)  
		
		
			 May 2003 0.28 
			 June 2003 0.44 
			 July 2003 0.70 
			 August 2003 1.11 
			 September 2003 1.41 
			 October 2003 1.58 
			 November 2003 1.92 
			 December 2003 1.97 
			 January 2004 2.04 
		
	
	(5) Estimated Iraqi oil supply net of re-injected crude oil.
	Source:
	International Energy Agency

Iraq

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 23 February 2004, Official Report, column 54W, on Iraqi oil, on what basis Iraqi oil has been sold other than on a spot basis; to whom the oil has been sold; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 9 March 2004
	Iraqi oil is sold by two other means, in addition to that sold on a spot basis.
	The first is through tendered cargoes by which "parcels" of crude are advertised for sale and for which sealed priced bids are made. The second is through long-term agreements whereby certain regular buyers of Iraqi oil agree to buy a given volume of Iraqi oil at a pre-agreed sale price. These buyers may also be offered additional volumes at the same price should there be excess production.
	The Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) is responsible for the sale of oil on behalf of the Ministry of Oil.

Iraq

David Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many contracts for reconstruction projects in Iraq have been awarded to each British company to have won such a contract; and what the total value is of such contracts.

Mike O'Brien: Because of the large number of different organisations involved it has become increasingly difficult to maintain a clear picture of the total volume of contracts awarded, and the cumulative value of these contracts. Numerous British companies have been awarded contracts and sub-contracts for the reconstruction process in Iraq but some have asked us not to publicise their success because of issues of commercial confidentiality. As such, we are not able to put a value on the contracts awarded and the fact that many are involved in partnership with American, Iraqi and other companies.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what relationship she envisages between the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Nirex.

Stephen Timms: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has announced that the Government are giving consideration to the future of Nirex. It will only be possible to set out definitively the relationship between Nirex and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority once this consideration has been completed.

Regional Venture Capital Funds

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action her Department is taking to attract corporate investment in regional venture capital funds.

Stephen Timms: In order to enable Fund Managers to attract private sector investors, the Government subordinated its investment position in the Regional Venture Capital Funds (RVCFs). This has allowed around £74 million of Government investment to lever an additional £176 million from private sector investors, some of whom were corporate investors.

Regional Venture Capital Funds

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 12 February 2004, Official Report, column 1628W, to the hon. Member for Eddisbury (Mr. O'Brien) on the Regional Venture Capital Fund, what the regional breakdown by (a) number and (b) value is of the regional venture capital fund investments; and what proportion of the funds have been drawn down in each region.

Nigel Griffiths: As at 31 January 2004, the nine Regional Venture Capital Funds had made 112 investments in 87 small businesses, totalling over £21 million. Details of the numbers of investments made in each region are contained in the table.
	
		£
		
			  Total investments  DTI investment Drawn down from DTI as 
			 RVCF Number Amount Total fund size commitment at 31 January 2004 
		
		
			 London 10 2,250,000 50,000,000 15,000,000 2,950,000 
			 East Midlands 19 3,245,047 30,000,000 9,000,000 3,650,000 
			 North East 23 3,321,882 15,000,000 4,500,000 4,200,000 
			 West Midlands 11 1,720,000 20,000,000 6,000,000 1,850,000 
			 South West 4 1,000,000 25,000,000 7,500,000 1,000,000 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 4 1,000,000 25,000,000 10,000,000 1,050,000 
			 South East 27 6,100,000 30,000,000 7,500,000 7,050,000 
			 North West 14 2,446,333 35,500,000 8,875,000 4,187,500 
			 East of England 0 0 20,000,000 6,000,000 600,000

Spam E-mails

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures she plans to help those who receive spam to block spam e-mails from their systems.

Stephen Timms: Effective blocking and filtering are a key part of the solution to spam. My Department is looking at ways of building up a stronger dialogue with internet service providers and other stakeholders about the deployment of network based spam blocking and filtering systems, and the education of users about the steps they can take to avoid spam. Our most recent initiative was the launch last year of an online source of information on e-security. This resource draws together a range of tools, advice and guidance on core areas of information security, including spam, and is aimed particularly at smaller businesses. New content is currently being added to this site which can be found at www.ukonlineforbusiness.gov.uk/informationsecurity.
	The Government believe that the problem of spam needs to be tackled in the longer term by a combination of regulation, international cooperation, industry action and user awareness. The UK implemented new EU rules on the sending of unsolicited commercial e-mail here in December last year and we are playing a leading role in the development of international work on how to tackle crossborder spam.

Small Business (Rochdale)

Lorna Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what central Government support the small business sector has received in the constituency of Rochdale in each year since 1996.

Stephen Timms: The constituency of Rochdale has benefited from the following funding from central Government.
	
		Business Link Core Funding(6)
		
			  SBS Core Funding for Business Link for North Manchester (£) 
		
		
			 2003–04 2,868,225 
			 2002–03 2,925,330 
			 2001–02 2,661,103 
		
	
	(6) Business Link for North Manchester includes four other local authority areas in addition to Rochdale.
	
		
			 L/A/Financial year Number of offers Total grant offered Total project costs Jobs to be created Jobs Sfgd 
		
		
			 1996–97 29 1,198,000 9,160,899 274 116 
			 1997–98 9 249,000 2,541,360 70 15 
			 1998–99 14 959,500 7,878,023 217 84 
			 1999–2000 7 929,000 10,619,376 117 293 
			 2000–01 5 920,000 9,466,448 226 20 
			 2001–02 3 380,000 3,329,350 82 18 
			 2002–03 0 0 0 0 0 
			 2003–04 1 249,000 2,369,000 77 0 
			 Total 68 4,884,500 45,364,456 1,063 546 
		
	
	Enterprise Grant Scheme
	From January 2000–04
	24 offers
	Total amount £912,300.
	Smart/Research and Development
	From January 2000–04
	7 offers
	Total amount £586,263.

Regulatory Impact Assessments

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what work is being done to improve the quality of regulatory impact assessments carried out in her Department.

Nigel Griffiths: The Cabinet Office published updated guidance on regulatory impact assessments (RIA) in January 2003, which built on lessons learnt since the system of RIA was first introduced in 1998. The Department is promoting the application of the guidance to help improve the quality of RIAs produced by this Department.

TETRA Contract

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the termination by the Austrian Government of the TETRA contract for the ADONIS nationwide radio communication network in June 2003; and what factors will be taken into account when a decision is made on the Firelink contract in the United Kingdom.

Stephen Timms: The decision by the Austrian Government to terminate their TETRA contract is entirely a matter for them.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is responsible for placing the contract for the Firelink project. The evaluation criteria for the Firelink procurement will take into account the operational requirements and commercial aspects set out in the invitation to submit proposals. The successful bidder would also have to comply with all relevant UK planning, environmental and safety regulations.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Servants (Company Directors)

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many civil servants in his Department are directors of companies.

Douglas Alexander: The rules on civil servants and directorships are set out in paragraph 4.3.9 of The Civil Service Management Code, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
	Details of any civil servants who may hold an outside directorship will be held on an individual's personnel file. Such information is not held recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate costs.

Civil Service

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what recent representations he has received regarding the need for legislation to protect the independence of the civil service;
	(2)  what progress has been made on the Government's commitment to bring forward legislation to protect the impartiality of the Civil Service in this parliamentary session;
	(3)  what recent representations he has received on establishing a Civil Service commission in statute.

Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Gentleman to my statement of 21 January 2004, Official Report, columns 1341–349. In addition, the Public Administration Select Committee published its proposals for a Civil Service Bill on 5 January 2004. I am also aware of the debate that took place on this issue in the other place on 5 March 2004, Official Report, columns 889–934.

Civil Service

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the annual change in the number of Civil Service employees was in each year since 1997–98; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The information requested is published annually in Civil Service Statistics, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House and at www.civil-service.gov.uk/statistics

Civil Service Training

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent representations he has received regarding Civil Service training; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The Cabinet Office receives representations from a wide range of stakeholders and interested parties regarding Civil Service training including the Civil Service Trade Unions. The Centre for Management and Policy Studies which includes The Civil Service College is constantly seeking feedback on its courses with a view to ensure that Civil Service training meets the needs of the future of the Civil Service.

Emergency Planning College

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what new training methods have been put in place at the Emergency Planning College at Easingwold over the past two years.

Douglas Alexander: A review of Emergency Planning College courses, their content and delivery methods was initiated in May 2003.
	Changes resulting from this review, including new courses, will begin to take effect from September 2004.

Government Services

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to his answer of 2 March 2004, Official Report, column 764W, on Government services, what estimate each Government Department has provided on the amount of money expected to be saved by providing services through electronic means by 2005.

Douglas Alexander: Departments are required to develop business cases for major e-service projects. The Efficiency Review led by Sir Peter Gershon is working with departments to consider how electronic services could be used to deliver additional savings.

Office of the e-Envoy

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the impact of the Office of the e-Envoy on the delivery of Government services online; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the progress of the Office of the e-Envoy; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: In 2002 the Information Age Partnership commissioned a major assessment of the UK's performance across the e-agenda leading to the publication of an independent international benchmarking report, 'The world's most effective policies for the e-economy'. The benchmarking results showed that the UK had made particularly strong progress with low internet access prices and high embedding of ICT in education. The report also found that UK's 'e-government readiness'—defined as the preparedness of government to engage and drive the e-agenda, and particularly deliver e-government—was a strength relative to G7 nations. The Office of the e-Envoy is working with departments towards the target of achieving 100 per cent. of services online by 2005 with key services achieving high levels of use. 68 per cent. of government services are now available electronically.

Office of the e-Envoy

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many (a) special advisers and (b) staff in total are employed in the Office of the e-Envoy.

Douglas Alexander: No special advisers are employed in the Office of the e-Envoy. On 1 March 2004 there were 102 staff in post in the office of the e-Envoy.

Policy Hub

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the impact of Policy Hub; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Gainsborough (Mr. Leigh) on 6 January 2004, Official Report, column 158.

Policy Hub

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the total expenditure has been (a) in the past 12 months and (b) since the inception on Policy Hub; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The information is as follows:
	(a) Expenditure on Policy Hub for the 12 months ending 31 January 2004, was £91,000. This reflects the costs of IT hosting, support and maintenance.
	Since 1 February 2004, the site has been located on the Cabinet Office server. Hosting, support and maintenance costs are now absorbed by general Cabinet Office IT costs.
	(b) Running costs since inception, including that for the twelve months ending 31 January 2004 quoted above, totals £207,000 excluding VAT. Policy Hub was launched by the Centre for Management and Policy Studies in the Cabinet Office in March 2002 as part of a wider IT Knowledge Management project, however, it is not possible to disaggregate the costs of Policy Hub from the other elements of the project.

Recruitment

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the cost of recruitment of civil servants for the Department was in each financial year since 1996–97, broken down by (a) delegated or contracted out recruitment procedures and (b) recruitment procedures carried out by the Department.

Douglas Alexander: Cabinet Office staff recruitment processes and associated budgeting has been delegated to individual Management Units, who are supported by the Cabinet Office HR central recruitment team.
	Staff costs for the Cabinet Office HR central recruitment team are available from 2002 to present and are:
	2002–03: £216,712
	2003–04: £187,678
	Overall Cabinet Office recruitment costs and a breakdown between contracted out activity and recruitment procedure are not maintained centrally and could be provided in the detail required only at disproportionate cost.

Recruitment

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much money has been spent advertising Civil Service recruitment in (a) 1996–97 and (b) the most recent period for which figures are available.

Douglas Alexander: Responsibility for advertising government jobs lies with individual Government Departments. The information requested is not, therefore, collected centrally. The Civil Service Commissioners Code makes clear that a reasonable opportunity must be given to prospective applicants to become aware of vacancies.

Regulation Costs

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the (a) recurring and (b) non-recurring costs for (i) a typical business and (ii) all business of the regulations passed so far this Session.

Douglas Alexander: All proposals which have a potential impact on business, charities or voluntary bodies must be accompanied by a regulatory impact assessment determining whether the costs of the proposal are justified by its benefits. Costs of individual regulations can be found in the published regulatory impact assessments, available in the House Library.

Regulatory Impact Assessments

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what percentage of regulatory impact assessments recommended that the regulatory instruments under examination should not proceed in the last year for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many regulatory instruments have failed to proceed following the negative conclusion of the regulatory impact assessments in each year since 2000.

Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb) on 2 February 2004, Official Report, column 715W.

Regulatory Impact Assessments

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of regulatory impact assessments conducted in 2003 which included a statement of what the respective department expected to happen in the absence of regulation; and what guidance his Department has issued on this subject;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the possible effect on the net benefits of regulation of including a do nothing option in regulatory impact assessments;
	(3)  how many regulatory impact assessments conducted in 2003 contained a do nothing option.

Douglas Alexander: The Government are committed to regulating only where necessary and promoting the use of alternatives to regulation. This includes the do nothing option, which provides a useful baseline against which to judge the potential impact of a proposal. As set out in Cabinet Office guidance 'Better Policy Making: A Guide to Regulatory Impact Assessment', Departments are required to consider alternatives as part of the RIA process. RIAs are published and placed in the Libraries of the House.

Regulatory Impact Assessments

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the finding in the Evaluation of Regulatory Impact Assessments Compendium Report 2003–04, published by the National Audit Office, that none of the sample regulatory impact assessments concluded that the costs to small business would be disproportionate.

Douglas Alexander: The Government welcome the National Audit Office's (NAO) Compendium Report on the Evaluation of Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIA), and is currently in the process of looking at the findings and recommendations of the report.

Secondments

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many private sector workers are seconded to (a) the Strategy Unit and (b) the Office of the e-Envoy; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: There is at present one private sector worker seconded to the Strategy Unit and none to the Office of the e-Envoy.

Service Denial

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many (a) denial of service and (b) distributed denial of service attacks have been recorded on Government department and agency computer networks and websites in each of the last five years.

Douglas Alexander: IT infrastructure, including IT security arrangements, is the responsibility of individual departments. The information requested is not, therefore, collected centrally.
	The Government have a continuous programme of work to identify vulnerabilities and prevent damage to critical national infrastructure, public sector networks and other inter-dependent information systems.

Special Advisers

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what powers special advisers within his Department have (a) to give direct orders to civil servants and (b) to exercise other executive powers; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The duties and responsibilities of special advisers are set out in the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers. Under the terms of the Civil Service Order in Council, up to three special adviser posts in the Prime Minister's office can have executive powers. Only one special adviser currently has such powers.

Special Advisers

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the total cost has been of special advisers accompanying Ministers on visits (a) abroad and (b) within the United Kingdom in the last 12 months.

Douglas Alexander: The Government publishes on an annual basis the cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. The cost figure includes the costs of any special advisers accompanying the Minister overseas. The cost for the financial year 2003–04 will be published as soon as it is ready after the end of the current financial year. The detailed information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	All travel complies with the requirements of 'Travel by Ministers' and the 'Civil Service Management Code' as appropriate.

Special Advisers

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the total cost has been of provision of Government cars to special advisers in the last 12 months.

Douglas Alexander: Special advisers are not provided with allocated Government cars. As with all civil servants, special advisers are entitled to use official pool cars if departmental rules allow.

Special Advisers

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what the total cost has been of provision of Government office facilities to special advisers (a) in the last 12 months and (b) since 1997–98;
	(2)  which Government-owned properties are used by special advisers for official business purposes; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: Special advisers provide advice to Ministers. They will normally be located in the same building as the appointing Minister. The cost of providing office facilities to special advisers will not normally be separately identifiable from the cost of Ministers' private offices.

Special Advisers

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many special advisers are employed (a) within his Department and (b) across Government as a whole; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: Within the Cabinet Office, the Minister without Portfolio currently employs one special adviser.
	As of 8 March, there are 77 special advisers employed across Government as a whole.

Strategy Unit

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what inquiries the Strategy Unit is undertaking.

Douglas Alexander: The Strategy Unit's current projects include:
	Alcohol Misuse—producing an alcohol harm Reduction Strategy for England;
	A study of the medium to long-term issues facing the UK Fishing industry;
	A project on "Improving the prospects of people living in areas of multiple deprivation in England";
	A project on "Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People";
	A study of the long-term issues facing London and its role as the UK's capital and as a world city;
	A joint analytical study with the Home Office on police reform; and
	An analysis of the challenges raised by Countries at risk of Instability and how the UK should improve its strategic response to them.
	Details of the Unit's work can be found on its website: www.strategy.gov.uk

Strategy Unit

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many (a) special advisers and (b) staff in total are employed in the Strategy Unit.

Douglas Alexander: (a) No special advisers are employed in the Strategy Unit. (b) There are currently 79 members of staff employed in the Strategy Unit.

Strategy Unit

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the impact of the Strategy Unit; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many projects have been undertaken by the Strategy Unit (a) in the last 12 months and (b) since it was established; if he will make an assessment of their impact; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The Strategy Unit carries out long-term strategic reviews and policy analysis across a range of areas. It works with departments to improve strategic capability across government.
	The Government Chief Social Researcher's Office, which is based in the Strategy Unit, also provides strategic leadership to social research across departments.
	Details of the Strategy Unit's work can be found on its website www.strategy.gov.uk.

Strategy Unit

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people have been employed on each project undertaken by the Strategy Unit since its inception.

Douglas Alexander: The Strategy Unit was formed in June 2002. Strategy Unit staff work across a number of project issues. Staff numbers usually average between 70 and 90 depending upon the workload.

Valuation Office Agency

James Gray: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer from the Paymaster General of 27 February 2004, Official Report, column 579W, on the Valuation Office Agency; whether the vacancy for a non-executive director of the Valuation Office Agency was advertised on the Public Appointments Unit website; when the names of the four candidates who were short-listed by the Valuation Office Agency for the position first entered the Cabinet Office's Public Appointments list; and whether they were self nominations.

Douglas Alexander: The vacancy for a non-executive director of the Valuation Office Agency was not advertised on the Public Appointments Vacancies website. The appointment was made in April 2002 prior to the development of the website which was launched on 27 March 2003. Since the website enables the open advertising of public appointments opportunities, it has replaced the use of a central list. In accordance with the Data Protection Act, the Department was not able to retain personal information about individuals who were on the list.

Women (Consultation)

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will list the women's organisations which have been consulted by his Department on proposed legislation during this Session; and whether their responses have been published.

Douglas Alexander: The Government are committed to ensuring that all relevant stakeholders are identified and involved in consultations on proposed legislation.
	A 12-week public consultation on the draft Civil Contingencies Bill took place between 19 June and 11 September 2003. Views were sought from a wide range of organisations with an interest in civil protection activity, including the Women's Royal Voluntary Service.
	The Government's response to the public consultation was published on 7 January and is available in the Libraries of the House.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Enterprise Advisers

Bob Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to his answer of 17 December 2003, Official Report, column 954W, on enterprise advisers, when the chief executive of the Learning and Skills Council will supply the information required.

David Miliband: The LSC's chief executive has today written to the hon. Member about the start of the new Enterprise Advisor Service.

Ministerial Speeches

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many speeches he made between 9 June 2003 and 1 February 2004; and where a copy of each speech can be obtained.

Stephen Twigg: My right hon. Friend has spoken at a number of events during this period, some transcripts of which can be found on the departmental website www.dfes.gov.uk. Details relating to a specific speaking event can be obtained by emailing the Department's Speeches Team through the link provided on this website.

School Governors

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how his Department has improved the way in which it assists school governors in (a) making decisions and (b) assessing budgets.

David Miliband: My Department has given school governing bodies greater freedom to take decisions through removing unnecessary restrictions on delegation under new arrangements deregulating governing body procedures introduced last September. The new arrangements allow governing bodies to decide for themselves whether the majority of decisions need to be taken by the whole governing body, a committee with delegated powers, or an individual governor or the head teacher. This will enable governing bodies to operate more flexibly, make better use of available expertise and speed up decision making.
	Alongside this, we have improved information and communication arrangements so that governors have greater access to the information they need to take well informed decisions. Governors have access to up to date information across the full range of their responsibilities through GovernorNet, our governors' portal; the Governors' Guide to the Law, which we can now keep up to date on GovernorNet; GovernorLine, an independent advice line backed up by a legal advice service which all governors can access free of charge seven days a week; and our termly Newsletter for School Governors which is available in hard copy for all governors. The Newsletter is used to raise governor awareness of current issues, which should improve governing body decision making. In addition, our National Training Programmes for New Governors and Governing Body Clerks should improve the ability of new governors to contribute at an earlier stage as well as governing body decisions to be better documented. A new programme for anyone chairing governing body meetings or committees "Taking the Chair" and a joint programme for head teachers, governing body chairs and other school leaders "Leading Together" will both be available in the autumn.
	The Department has commissioned the National College for School Leadership and KPMG to design, develop and deliver a varied menu of support and guidance to help schools' budget management. This includes a dedicated website and helpdesk, which is available to all school governing bodies. There are also workshops for schools in those LEAs eligible for targeted transitional support, in the period January to March 2004. A team of two from each school can attend the workshop, which could include the chair of governors or the chair of the finance committee.

School Governors

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many school governor places in England are vacant; and what percentage this represents of capacity.

David Miliband: There are approximately 350,000 school governor places at maintained schools in England. At any one time, across the country, around 12 per cent. of these places are vacant.

Schools (Capital Spending)

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much has been spent on schools capital spending programmes in each year since 1979 in (a) England and Wales and (b) Staffordshire.

David Miliband: The following table shows capital allocations to local education authorities and schools in England and Staffordshire, from 1996–97 to 2003–04. Reliable figures are not available prior to this period. Allocations for Wales are a matter for the Welsh Office.
	
		Total capital allocations for England and Staffordshire from 1996–97 to 2003–04 -- £ million
		
			  England Of which: Staffordshire 
		
		
			 1996–97 700 3.7 
			 1997–98 800 7.4 
			 1998–99 1,100 (7)25.9 
			 1999–2000 1,400 15.5 
			 2000–01 2,100 31.1 
			 2001–02 2,200 23.0 
			 2002–03 3,000 26.6 
			 2003–04 3,800 35.5 
		
	
	(7) Includes £13.7 million of PFI credits.

Students (Dependent Children)

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  if the Higher Education Funding Council for England will collect and publish statistics for the number of students with dependent children attending higher educational institutions, broken down by (a) institution and (b) region;
	(2)  whether the Higher Education Funding Council for England collects statistics for the number of students with dependent children attending higher education institutions; and whether such statistics are publicly available.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 9 March 2004
	The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes statistics on behalf of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). Data on the number of students with dependent children are not currently collected by HESA and there are no plans for their future collection or publication.

Westminster Hall

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make it his policy to have senior Ministers reply to debates in Westminster Hall.

Stephen Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House on 8 March 2004, Official Report, column. 1234W.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Bed and Breakfast Accommodation

Simon Hughes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when the Government expect to meet their target that there should be no families in bed and breakfast for more than six weeks in London boroughs; and what steps he will take to sustain this policy.

Yvette Cooper: Official figures show that the number of families in bed and breakfast accommodation for more than six weeks halved between September 2002 and September 2003. Monitoring by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister shows considerable progress has been made since then. From April local authorities will have a statutory obligation not to house families in bed and breakfast for more than six weeks.

Local Democracy (Participation)

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what action his Department is taking to increase participation and engagement in local democratic structures.

Nick Raynsford: The Government are keen to encourage participation and engagement in local democracy and continues to pursue a range of initiatives aimed at achieving this.
	These include local government reform, new community-based initiatives, electoral pilots, the extension of e-government, and the opportunity for people to vote on regional devolution in the northern regions.

Council Houses

Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many council houses he expects will be built in the financial year 2004–05.

Keith Hill: The total number of local authority dwellings proposed to be built or acquired in 2004–05 for England is about 350.

Council Tax

Ben Chapman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on changes to council tax levels in 2004–05.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will publish definitive information on council tax levels in 2004–05 once we have validated returns from all authorities. In the meantime, I am pleased to say that most councils are budgeting prudently, and that council tax increases are expected to be, on average, less than half last year's levels.

Council Tax

Simon Hughes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the statement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State on 10 February 2004, Official Report, column 1347, if he will place in the Library a copy of the letter to the Mayor of London on the capping of council tax.

Nick Raynsford: No. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has written to a number of authorities but as a matter of policy it has not published either the names of these authorities or the text of the letters. It would be invidious to single out authorities by making public the letters they have received on this matter.

Student Housing

Julie Morgan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to prevent concentration of student housing in cities from affecting the sustainability of communities.

Keith Hill: Several Members of this House have made representations to me about the concentration of student housing in cities. There is limited scope for what can be achieved through national planning and housing policies. It is essential that universities and host local authorities work together to develop and share best practice and to plan and manage the impact students have on the wider community.
	Therefore, I have agreed to arrange a meeting with key stakeholders, including the Minister of State for Further and Higher Education, Universities UK and the Local Government Association to take this issue forward.

Local Government (East Lancashire)

David Chaytor: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the options under consideration for local government reorganisation in East Lancashire.

Nick Raynsford: The options under consideration for local government reorganisation are matters for the independent Boundary Committee for England.
	Government will not take a view on any prospective scheme for reorganisation until we have received the final recommendations from the Boundary Committee, which we expect in May 2004.

Burials (Private Land)

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister under what circumstances (a) a planning condition may be imposed and (b) a section 106 agreement may be made to limit the frequency of burials on private land to one a week, averaged over (a) three, (b) six, (c) nine and (d) 12 months.

Keith Hill: A limited number of burials over a period of time may not constitute a "change of use" and no planning permission is necessary. Exceeding this "limited" number of burials may require planning approval.
	Planning conditions can only be attached to planning permissions. They are imposed to enable planning permission to be given. It is for the local authority to determine what conditions should be imposed to make it possible to grant permission for the desired use.
	Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 enables a person with an interest in land to enter into a planning obligation to
	(a) restrict the development or use of the land in any specified way;
	(b) require specified operations or activities to be carried out in, on, under or over the land;
	(c) require the land to be used in any specified way; or
	(d) require a sum or sums to be paid to the authority on a specified date or dates or periodically.
	The obligation can be in the form of an agreement between a local planning authority or a unilateral undertaking.
	Planning obligations under section 106 may be made at any time, but in practice they are usually made between a developer and a local planning authority in the context of a planning permission. A person with an interest in land cannot be compelled to enter into planning obligations.

Community Plan Areas

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which urban development corporations, either existing or proposed, cover the four community plan areas; what the dates are for their inception; what discussions have taken place with their constituent local authorities; and for what reason the Stansted-Cambridge community plan was extended to the whole of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Keith Hill: The Sustainable Communities Plan included a commitment in the Growth Areas to set up strengthened local delivery agencies with the necessary powers to drive forward development and the investment, public and private, it requires. For each major growth location the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister consulted local authorities on their views of the best approach before taking a final decision. In the majority of locations we have agreed that a local authority led local partnership is the best way forward. In a few locations with regeneration objectives, cross-boundary issues and large scale or difficult sites, the long-term focus, funding and special powers of an Urban Development Corporation (UDC) will be required to help to deliver the necessary change and maximise the potential for large scale investment. To date this approach has been either adopted or proposed in two locations in the Thames Gateway and one in the Milton Keynes-South Midlands Growth Area.
	In the Thames Gateway, a UDC was established for Thurrock on 29 October 2003. Following public consultation earlier this year, and subject to parliamentary approval, it is expected that a second UDC will be established for London Thames Gateway in summer 2004. In both Thurrock and London Thames Gateway, Ministers and officials have been engaged in lengthy and wide-ranging discussions with local authorities on the proposals to establish a UDC.
	In Milton Keynes-South Midlands, a UDC has been proposed for West Northamptonshire. As in the Gateway, we are firmly committed to a partnership approach for the proposed UDC, working closely with the local authorities, English Partnerships and the RDA. Prior to consultation, the Government and local authorities agreed that a UDC would be needed for West Northamptonshire to drive forward the regeneration of the area. We are currently engaged in a public consultation on the proposed UDC that will end on 12 March 2004. Subject to parliamentary approval, it is expected that the West Northamptonshire UDC will come into operation later in 2004. For Milton Keynes the proposed delivery mechanism will be an Urban Development Area (UDA), overseen by a Committee of English Partnerships. This "Milton Keynes Partnership Committee" will include representatives of the local authority, English Partnerships, the Local Strategic Partnership and the private sector. Consultation on the proposed UDA ended on 5 March.
	On 2 February, we announced our intention to extend the London-Stansted-Cambridge (L-S-C) Growth Area to include Peterborough and all of Cambridgeshire.This decision takes account of the important role and potential of Peterborough in contributing to sustainable housing growth linked to the London-Stansted-Cambridge Growth Area, and the work of the Regional Planning Panel for the East of England in preparing new regional planning guidance for the region.
	It also reflects the important work under way on sustainable housing growth across Cambridgeshire, and particularly through the Cambridge Sub Region Infrastructure Partnership, which includes Fenland, East Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire.

Fire Engines (Accidents)

Mark Oaten: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many accidents involving fire engines took place in each London borough in 2003.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister understands from the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority that the following is the number of accidents involving fire appliances that took place in each London borough in 2003:
	
		
			 Borough Total 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 18 
			 Barnet 13 
			 Bexley 6 
			 Brent 14 
			 Bromley 12 
			 Camden 20 
			 City of London 7 
			 Croydon 13 
			 Ealing 19 
			 Enfield 16 
			 Greenwich 15 
			 Hackney 14 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 7 
			 Haringey 12 
			 Harrow 5 
			 Havering 6 
			 Hillingdon 13 
			 Hounslow 11 
			 Islington 23 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 28 
			 Kingston 5 
			 Lambeth 36 
			 Lewisham 16 
			 Merton 8 
			 Newham 16 
			 Redbridge 3 
			 Richmond 3 
			 Southwark 17 
			 Sutton 7 
			 Tower Hamlets 32 
			 Waltham Forest 7 
			 Wandsworth 16 
			 Westminster 34 
			 Total 472

Mobile Phone Masts

Michael Spicer: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will provide further (a) planning guidelines and (b) resources to local planning authorities with respect to applications for G3 technology telecommunications masts.

Keith Hill: Current planning guidance for all electronic communication developments is set out in Planning Policy Guidance Note 8 (revised) (PPG8). The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has also issued a Code of Best Practice on Mobile Phone Network Development. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has no plans to change these arrangements at present.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is, however, making £350 million of additional resources available to planning authorities over three years to drive performance improvement. Authorities are free to spend this money in whatever way they wish.

Public Sector Procurement

Barbara Roche: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of public sector procurement as a tool for inner city regeneration; and what plans his Department has to develop the use of public sector procurement in the future.

Yvette Cooper: No specific assessment has been made of the effectiveness of public sector procurement as a tool for inner city regeneration. The National Procurement Strategy for Local Government, jointly published by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Local Government Association (LGA) in October 2003, sets out a three-year strategy for procurement which encourages public sector bodies to consider wider corporate objectives such as economic and social regeneration as well as the need for better and cost-effective services for citizens.

Regional Assemblies

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will answer the question tabled by the hon. Member for North Essex on 10 February, reference 155144, on elected regional assemblies; and what has delayed his response.

Nick Raynsford: The relevant question was answered on 4 March 2004, Official Report, column 1106W.
	It will be for the Elected Regional Assembly in each of the three regions to decide on how best to meet its long-term accommodation requirements, including location.
	In reaching a decision on any initial temporary accommodation which may be required once an Elected Regional Assembly is in place, the Government will consult the regional chambers in the north-east, north-west and Yorkshire and the Humber.

Regional Assemblies

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many regional assembly members would be elected by (a) a the first-past-the-post system and (b) the additional member system in each of the regions where the Government propose to establish elected regional assemblies.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister laid out in the White Paper, "Your Region, Your Choice", published May 2002 that the electoral system for the regional assemblies would be the additional member system. This will mean that two thirds of the members in each region will be elected as constituency members, and one third will be top-up regional list members. Each region will have between 25–35 members in total.

Regional Assemblies

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when the number of assembly members for the proposed elected regional assemblies in the north-west and Yorkshire and the Humber will be determined.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister announced in the White Paper, "Your Region, Your Choice", published in May 2002, that each assembly will have between 25 and 35 members.
	Section 21 of the Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Act 2003 requires the Secretary of State to direct the Electoral Commission to advise him. The topics on which advice can be requested are listed and include the number of electoral areas that an assembly should have. The Act requires that this direction be made no later than two years after a yes vote is gained in a referendum.

Regional Assemblies

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the constituencies for regional assembly members elected by the first-past-the-post system would be in (a) the north-east, (b) the north-west and (c) Yorkshire and the Humber.

Nick Raynsford: Two thirds of the members in each region will be elected by regional constituencies under the first-past-the-post system, while the other third will be elected as "top-up" list members under the Additional Member System.
	Section 21 of the Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Act 2003 requires the Secretary of State to direct the Electoral Commission to advise him. The topics on which advice can be requested are listed and include the electoral areas for the assembly. The Act requires that this direction be made no later than two years after a yes vote is gained in a referendum.

Regional Assemblies

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether administrative cost savings consequent on the change in status of local government in North Yorkshire in the event of the establishment of a Regional Assembly would be deducted from future funding allocations to the county.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will be discussing how to treat the costs and potential savings of reorganisation with local government. A working group has been established to look at costs and the wider practical implications of reorganisation. Its first meeting took place on 9 March.

South East England Development Agency

Andrew Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list each project on the Isle of Wight funded by South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) in the last 12 months for which information is available, showing the (a) funding from SEEDA for each project and (b) intended outcomes of each project.

Nick Raynsford: In the financial year April 2003 to March 2004, South East England Development Agency will invest a total of £13 million on 17 projects on the Isle of Wight. The purpose of those projects is to support the sustainable economic development of the Island. Forecasted core outputs should:
	create or safeguard 388 jobs, create or fill 1,672 learning opportunities between three and 30 hours duration and 112 over 30 hours and create 40 new businesses while sustaining a further 12 for 12 months. The following table applies this in more detail to individual projects.
	SEEDA has also provided £35,000 towards the Island's Community Wind project. This has funded a feasibility study which has been extended to cover use of renewable energy in refurbishment and newbuild in an estate in Newport. As well as added value through dissemination there is also a possibility of creating two jobs.
	
		Isle of Wight SEEDA forecast spend and core outputs for 2003–04
		
			   Core tier 3 outputs 
			 Project Forecast spend (£) New jobs created/safeguarded Hectares of brownfield land remediated or recycled Number of learning opportunities created and filled (3–30 hours) Number of learning opportunities over 30 hours New businesses created New businesses sustained for 12 months 
		
		
			 Ryde 2000—SRB scheme 1,699,000 25 — 307 — 25 12 
			 Island Inclusive—SRB scheme 106,106 — — 75 — — — 
			 Rural Development Programme 400,000 17 — 52 — 14 — 
			 Leader+ (rural) 100,000 — — 133 — — — 
			 Market Town Initiative: (Sandown, Shanklin, Ventnor)(8) 184,342 2 — 5 — 1 — 
			 Regional Selective Assistance Project 200,000 44 — — — — — 
			 Better Skills Better Community 338,000 — — 1,000 — — — 
			 Learning for all 130,000 — — 100 100 — — 
			 Management Development—PLATO(9) 25,500 — — — 12 — — 
			 Isle of Wight Enterprise Hub(10) 44,355 — — — — — — 
			 Cowes Marine Cluster(10) 91,000 — — — — — — 
			 Direct Development Activities (GKN, Cowes Waterfront, 3 Gates Road) 9,600,000 300 Output is notcalculateduntil land isremediated — — — — 
			 Isle of Wight Economic Partnership Funding 90,000 (11)— (11)— (11)— (11)— (11)— (11)— 
			 Total spend in Isle of Wight 2003–04 13,008,303 (11)— (11)— (11)— (11)— (11)— (11)— 
		
	
	(8) Market Towns also deliver rural outputs such as improved community facilities and child care places.
	(9) This programme applies across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and this represents a pro-rata allocation for the Isle of Wight.
	(10) Will deliver supplementary outputs such as business advice.
	(11) Not applicable

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Accession States

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether British embassies and high commissions in the EU accession countries will issue UK workers registration certificates; and whether there will be a charge for such certificates.

Beverley Hughes: I have been asked to reply.
	My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary indicated in his statement to the House on 23 February 2003, Official Report columns 23–25, that, from 1 May, accession country nationals will have free movement across EU borders. They will not be required to apply for entry clearance to travel to the United Kingdom in search of work. With the exception of Malta and Cyprus, citizens of the new member states will need to register with the Home Office when they find a job in the UK, providing information about where and for whom they are working. Employers will be required to satisfy themselves that accession country nationals in their employ apply for and receive registration under this scheme.
	The registration scheme will be run by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. The Directorate is looking into whether all or part of the administrative costs of the scheme could be recovered through charges.
	Registration under the scheme will be issued for 12 months, and within that period will be valid for as long as the worker is in the registered employment. The worker should apply to renew the registration if he or she finds a job with a new employer. Registration under the scheme will apply only to workers in the United Kingdom, not to those who are not working.

Afghanistan

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) Afghan National Army personnel and (b) Afghan police that will (i) have completed training and (ii) be working officially within Afghanistan by 30 June.

Jack Straw: holding answer 9 March 2004
	We currently estimate that around 10,000 Afghan National Army personnel and at least 5,000 Afghan police personnel will have completed training and be operational in Afghanistan by 30 June.

Afghanistan

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the German Government regarding the role of the German military in eradicating poppy production in the north of Afghanistan.

Jack Straw: holding answer 9 March 2004
	As lead nation co-ordinating international counter-narcotics assistance to Afghanistan, the UK works closely with all Afghan and international partners, including Germany, to co-ordinate Afghanistan's drug control efforts to best effect. We have regular discussions with German counterparts about counter-narcotics assistance to Afghanistan.
	Although no international military forces are involved in the Afghan campaign to eradicate opium poppy, we encourage the Afghan authorities to use existing liaison mechanisms to ensure that all drug enforcement interventions are de-conflicted with the wider security programmes in place. We understand the mandate for the German military forces in Afghanistan agreed by the German Parliament currently precludes any engagement in counter-narcotics activity of any type.

Afghanistan

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the British Government's objectives are for the conference on Afghan reconstruction in Berlin on 31 March and 1 April; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: holding answer 9 March 2004
	We will use the Berlin Conference to reaffirm our commitment to Afghanistan; to encourage other donors to contribute additional resources to the reconstruction effort; and to take forward the Action Plans that emerged from the joint Afghan/UN/UK Counter-Narcotics Conference in Kabul on 9 February.
	The conference will also provide an opportunity to take stock of progress to date against the Bonn Agreement of December 2001, and to agree with the Afghan Government and our international partners a blueprint for continued engagement over the next three to five years.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development, made a Written Statement on 1 March 2004, Official Report, column 74WS, setting out the UK's increased pledge of at least £500 million for Afghanistan up to 2006–07. We are encouraging our international partners to follow our example and provide sufficient resources to allow Afghanistan to build on the achievements of the Bonn Process to date.

Afghanistan

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had regarding the role played by the German Government in setting the agenda for the international summit on Afghanistan to be held in Berlin.

Jack Straw: The agenda for the Berlin Conference on Afghanistan (31 March to 1 April) has been set by the Afghan Transitional Administration, in consultation with Germany and other international partners.

Afghanistan

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the US Administration on stability in Uruzgun, Afghanistan during the period of February to 30 June 2004.

Jack Straw: Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials at all levels are in regular contact with their US counterparts on all aspects of the current situation in Afghanistan, including security and stability in the regions.

Cyprus

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 13 January 2004, Official Report, column 643W, on Cyprus, whether the University of Oslo has completed its report on the elections to the Assembly of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: holding answer 9 March 2004
	The publication of the University of Oslo report has been delayed. We expect it to be published in the very near future.

Hong Kong/China

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what UK assets in Hong Kong were given to China at the handover of sovereignty; and what their value was.

Bill Rammell: Under the terms of the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, the British Government agreed to restore Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997. A small number of military sites were covered by a separate Exchange of Notes in 1994 (Cm 2888 of June 1995). In practice the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government took over on 1 July 1997 the functions previously exercised by the colonial Hong Kong Government. This was done without any compensation and it was therefore not appropriate to put any value on what was handed back.
	The Joint Declaration provides Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy from mainland China except in foreign and defence affairs. The Joint Declaration states that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region "shall deal on its own with financial matters, including disposing of its financial resources" and "shall use its financial revenues exclusively for its own purposes and they shall not be handed over to the Central People's Government".

Iraq

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 15 December 2003, Official Report, column 733W, on Iraq, if he will make a statement on the extent of the involvement of Mr. Nadhmi Auchi in the company which has been awarded the licence for the provision of mobile telecommunications services in the central region of Iraq including Baghdad.

Bill Rammell: The Coalition Provisional Authority has informed us that the licence for the central Iraq sector, including Baghdad, was awarded to Orascom Iraq Holding Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Orascom Telecom Holding SAE, an Egyptian joint stock company. As the company is registered outside the UK, we are not in a position to verify information on its shareholders. Only UK registered companies are required to list their shareholders with Companies House.

Iraq

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of investigations by the Pentagon Inspector General into the awarding of contracts for the provision of mobile telecommunications services in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: We have asked the United States Government for clarification and are awaiting a response.

Iraq

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on (a) the 28 February deadline for the approval of the Fundamental Law in Iraq and (b) the 31 May deadline for elections to the transitional assembly.

Jack Straw: holding answer 9 March 2004
	The Transitional Administrative Law (TAL) was signed by the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) on 8 March after intensive debate. The agreement on a TAL is a great achievement. The UN's recent report on the holding of the elections in Iraq concluded that properly organised elections to a Transitional National Assembly would not be feasible until late 2004 at the earliest and more probably early 2005. The IGC and the CPA have accepted the UN's recommendations on timings for the elections.

Iraq

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what security arrangements have been agreed between the Coalition Provisional Authority and the Iraqi Governing Council; what time limits are attached to those agreements; what requirements they place on any future provisional government of Iraq; what their basis is in (a) Iraqi and (b) international law; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: holding answer 9 March 2004
	The status of multinational forces in Iraq and the legal mandate that will govern their presence and operations after the handover of authority to an Iraqi Government remain under consideration.

Kurdish Independence

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Kurdish independence within a federal Iraq following the publication of the draft interim national constitution.

Bill Rammell: The long term political structure of Iraq will be determined by the Transitional National Assembly due to be elected by January 2005. However, the Transitional Administrative Law recognises the administrative and legislative functions of the Kurdistan Regional Government, which is recognised as the official regional government of those territories that were administered by that Government as of 19 March 2003.
	Functions performed by the Kurdistan Regional Government shall continue to be exercised throughout the transitional period, except over those issues which fall within the exclusive competence of the central federal government as specified in the Transitional Administrative Law.

Temporary Staff

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff the Department employs on a temporary basis through employment agencies; what percentage this is of total staff employed; and how much the Department paid employment agencies to supply temporary staff in (a) 2001–02, (b) 2002–03 and (c) 2003–04 to the most recent date for which figures are available.

Mike O'Brien: We do not have a central record of the numbers of staff employed under contract from agencies; to obtain these figures would incur disproportionate costs. However the cost of temporary staff supplied to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is:
	
		
			 Financial year Agency costs (£) 
		
		
			 2001–02 1,933,841 
			 2002–03 1,850,779 
			 2003–04 (until end November 2003) 1,063,713

Ukraine

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans his Department has to develop closer (a) economic and (b) trading ties with the Ukraine; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: Economic and trade ties between the UK and Ukraine are developing. For example, a Birmingham Chamber of Commerce trade mission visited Ukraine in February. Also the UK is a major investor in Ukraine, notably through BP's partnership with the Russian company TNK and through direct investments in Ukraine by the UK oil and gas company JKX. Trade will develop once Ukraine accedes to the WTO. The EU signed a bilateral WTO protocol with Ukraine last year; Ukraine is negotiating with other WTO members. The EU-Ukraine Partnership and Co-operation Agreement provides for an eventual Free Trade Agreement.

Ukraine

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of the Ukraine concerning its future membership of the European Union; and what (a) advice he plans to give and (b) co-operation he plans to undertake with the Ukraine in this matter.

Denis MacShane: The UK has regular contacts with Ukraine at official and ministerial level, at which Ukraine's relationship with the EU is often discussed. I visited Ukraine on 14 and 15 September 2003. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Kostyantyn Gryshchenko on 12 January 2004.
	Ukraine has a long way to go before the question of EU membership can be addressed. For now, Ukraine should focus on domestic reform and developing closer relations with the EU both through implementation of its Partnership and Co-operation Agreement and through full participation in the new European Neighbourhood Policy, which is aimed at strengthening the EU's relations with its neighbours.
	The Foreign Secretary made clear to Foreign Minister Gryshchenko in January that closer relations between Ukraine and the EU will depend on Ukraine's democratic process and its progress with democratic and other reforms. The extent to which the 2004 presidential elections are free and fair will be a crucial test.
	The UK has committed almost £3 million to help create an environment in which elections can be more democratic, including by enabling the independent Ukrainian media to expose electoral malpractice. Of this amount, some £600,000 directly targets the 2004 presidential election. The UK will also provide support to international election monitoring.

Ukraine

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of the Ukraine concerning its future membership of NATO; and what his policy is on such membership.

Denis MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed NATO issues with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Gryshchenko in January.
	We welcome Ukraine's determination to pursue full Euro-Atlantic integration. The UK continues to work closely with Ukraine and NATO Allies to promote full implementation of the NATO-Ukraine Action Plan launched at the Prague Summit in November 2002.
	Any enhancement of NATO-Ukraine relations needs to be based on a shared commitment to Euro-Atlantic values and standards. The extent to which the 2004 presidential elections are free and fair will be a crucial test of Ukraine's readiness for a closer relationship with NATO.

Ukraine

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to visit the Ukraine; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Canterbury (Mr. Brazier) on 10 February 2004, Official Report, column 1308W.

United Nations

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether there have been breaches by the UK of the (a) Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations 1946 and (b) Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961 in the last two years.

Jack Straw: The United Kingdom is obliged to comply with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961 and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations 1946 in accordance with international law. There have been a small number of cases where, through administrative error, arriving diplomats have been referred for medical checks or had their personal effects opened in a manner not in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. On each occasion the matter was amicably resolved after the Foreign and Commonwealth Office apologised to the diplomatic mission concerned.

US Visas

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of (a) British passport holders and (b) British journalists who visited the USA in each of the last five years; if he will make a statement on the new visa arrangements for travel from the UK to the US; and what assessment he has made of the effect of the new arrangements on the timescale for issuing US visas to UK citizens.

Chris Mullin: The Office for National Statistics estimates the number of UK residents visiting the US in each of the last five years as:
	
		
			  Number of UK residents (million) 
		
		
			 1999 4.73 
			 2000 5.06 
			 2001 4.66 
			 2002 4.21 
			 2003 3.8 
		
	
	It is not possible to break these figures down between British Citizens, other British Nationals and others resident in the UK, or give figures for British passport holders who travelled to the US from another country in which they are normally resident.
	The US embassy in London issued the following numbers of five-year multiple entry visas to 'representatives of the media':
	
		
			  Number of visas issued 
		
		
			 1999 1,906 
			 2000 2,034 
			 2001 2,078 
			 2002 1,816 
			 2003 2,001 
		
	
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has expressed concern to US Secretary of State Colin Powell at the effect of changes to the US Visa Waiver Programme due to come into effect on 26 October 2004. Discussions are under way with the US authorities. It is too early to predict the outcome.

Westminster Hall

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to have senior Ministers reply to debates in Westminster Hall.

Jack Straw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House gave on 8 March 2004, Official Report, column 1234W.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Climate Change

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the national security implications of climate change.

Elliot Morley: Across Government, we are carrying out internal assessments to identify how policy and operational responsibilities in all Departments could be affected by climate change. This process is currently reporting, and has included both the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The MOD is continuing to look at the implications of climate change for national security.
	Some of the potential linkages between climate change and security include increased pressure on food and water resources and energy supplies, which in turn (and in combination with other factors) may contribute to the causes of migration, instability and conflict.

Waste

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to increase the total for private finance initiative credits for waste disposal plans.

Elliot Morley: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State recognises the increasing contribution that the private finance initiative (PFI) is making in the area of waste management and disposal. £475 million of PFI credits are being made available for waste projects over the period from 2001–02 to 2005–06. To date, eight waste PFI projects have reached contract completion and there have been seven new approvals since April 2003. PFI is being considered as one funding route as part of the current Government Spending Review covering spending up to 2007–08. The outcome of the Spending Review will be announced in the summer.

Waste

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at what level she intends to fix penalties for local waste authorities which do not meet waste targets.

Elliot Morley: The level of penalty for Waste Disposal Authorities which landfill more than their available allowances under the Landfill Allowances Trading Scheme will be made known when the outcome to the recent consultation is published on the Defra website www.Defra.gov.uk. This is likely to be in early April. Waste Disposal Authorities will be able to avoid the imposition of penalties by making full use of the flexibilities in the scheme.

Waste

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps are being taken to reduce the amount of waste generated by (a) households and (b) businesses in London.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 23 February 2004
	The Government's national policies to reduce the amount of waste generated will have an impact on London.
	The Government have committed over £40 million over the next three years (2003–06) to the Waste and Resources Action Programme's (WRAP) waste minimisation work. Its work tackles household waste minimisation through four schemes:
	an expansion of home composting;
	promotion of re-usable nappies;
	a research and development programme, aimed at identifying and developing innovative approaches to waste minimisation;
	work with major retailers to reduce the amount of waste entering the waste stream from supermarkets.
	Two London local authorities will participate in the 22 home composting pilot schemes that WRAP is running in 2004–05.
	In addition WRAP will take forward an education and awareness programme. This will operate at both a national and local level to raise the public's awareness about waste issues, including waste minimisation.
	The Government have also provided significant extra funding through the London Recycling Fund, which in its first two years specifically funded a number of waste minimisation schemes.
	The London Recycling Fund has recently reviewed its business plan and has announced that waste minimisation and reuse is one of its three main priority areas for funding.
	The Mayor of London's municipal waste management strategy "Rethinking Rubbish in London" sets out a number of policies he proposes to take to reduce municipal waste growth in London.
	For businesses the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 (as amended) set targets for the recovery and recycling of packaging waste and provide incentives to reduce the amount of packaging handled.
	The Government have entered into a voluntary agreement with the newspaper industry, which has seen recycled content of newspapers increase to well over the target of 60 per cent. last year. The Government are looking to enter into more agreements of this kind.
	The Government fund Envirowise, a business support programme dedicated to making businesses more resource efficient, saving money by minimising waste. Last year alone, Envirowise helped UK businesses to achieve annual cost savings of over £175 million, with a reduction of 1.6 million tonnes of solid waste. It also funds the Sustainable Technologies Initiative that provides funding for research and development projects aimed at minimising waste at source.

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to require the Environment Agency to maintain more precise data on (a) inert, (b) non-hazardous and (c) hazardous waste arisings.

Elliot Morley: None. The Environment Agency already keeps data on the origin, quantity, type and destination of every load of special waste. There are no plans to make these more precise. The Department is examining data needs in the context of the Landfill Directive targets to divert biodegradable municipal waste from landfill but also more widely in relation to the EU Waste Statistics Regulation. The intention is to consult on a draft data strategy. A decision will be made in due course as to who would be responsible for collecting these data.

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the meetings she has held with the Deputy Prime Minister since 1 June 2001 to determine how the United Kingdom will provide the new waste management capacity that the Environment Agency has indicated is necessary to achieve compliance with the Landfill Directive; and what achievements have resulted from these meetings.

Elliot Morley: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, meets the Deputy Prime Minister frequently to discuss all manner of topics. ODPM and Defra are working together to revise Planning Policy Guidance (PPG) 10, which covers Planning and Waste Management. The current PPG 10, issued in September 1999, deals with the planning considerations to be taken into account in preparing waste local (i.e. land use) plans. In updating PPG 10 (to Planning Policy Statement 10) the government aims to provide more strategic support for local authority decision makers in providing for new waste capacity—whether in plans or planning decisions. The aim is to publish a draft PPS 10 for consultation at the earliest opportunity.

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the National Interim Waste Acceptance Procedures will be published.

Elliot Morley: The waste acceptance criteria that currently apply and will continue to do so until Council Decision 2003/33 is implemented in England and Wales, are referred to in Regulation 10 and Schedule 1 of the Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations 2002. Consultation on the amending regulations implementing the Council Decision has ended and the outcome of that consultation should be published on the Defra website www.Defra.gov.uk in March.

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when her Department will publish the (a) interim Hazardous Waste Regulations and (b) draft Hazardous Waste Regulations.

Elliot Morley: A draft of new Hazardous Waste Regulations will be made available when Defra goes out to consultation on the Regulations later this year. Defra has no plans to issue interim Hazardous Waste Regulations.

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she has taken to ensure that hazardous waste is not transported between England and other parts of the UK to evade regulatory requirements; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: While regulatory requirements for hazardous waste in different parts of the UK may not be completely identical, the European Hazardous Waste List and the requirements of the Hazardous Waste Directive will be completely transposed throughout the UK. Movements of hazardous waste in the UK are tracked from the point of production to the point of final disposal, so those transporting such waste from one part of the UK to another will be unable to evade regulatory requirements.

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when her Department will lay before Parliament the amendments to the Landfill (Amendment) Regulations 2002.

Elliot Morley: Following the publication later this month of the consultation outcome on the Landfill (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2004, the aim is to lay those Regulations before Parliament in April. This will enable the deadline of 16 July 2004 for transposing Council Decision 2003/33 on waste acceptance criteria into national legislation to be met.

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the waste streams to be banned from landfill from 16 July 2004.

Elliot Morley: There are no waste streams that will be banned from landfill from 16 July 2004. Hazardous liquid wastes and wastes that are explosive, corrosive, oxidising or flammable have been banned from being disposed of to landfill since 16 July 2002 and whole tyres have been banned from landfill at new sites and hazardous landfills since 16 July 2003.

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what high temperature incineration capacity exists in (a) France, (b) Germany and (c) the UK for treatment of hazardous waste;
	(2)  what the rate of utilisation of high temperature incineration capacity within the United Kingdom was in the latest year for which figures are available.

Elliot Morley: In the UK there are two operational merchant high temperature incinerators and one mothballed. The two operational plants have a current combined capacity of approximately 110,000 tonnes per annum for hazardous waste, and utilisation was broadly in line with capacity last year. There are also a number of in-house HTI plant, generally attached to other industrial facilities.
	Waste industry sources advise that France has 16 hazardous waste incinerators which corresponds to 770,000 tonnes per annum.
	In Germany there is incineration capacity for approximately 1 million tonnes of hazardous waste per annum in approximately 30 plant (18 of which are integrated with other industrial plant).

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether advice has been given to Government departments on how to dispose of (a) end of life fluorescent light bulbs and (b) other waste that will be classified as hazardous when the Hazardous Waste Regulations come into force.

Elliot Morley: It is anticipated that commitments for sustainable waste stream management on the Government Estate will be published during Spring/Summer 2004 as part of the waste section of the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate (Framework).
	Practical guidance (to include information about fluorescent tubes and hazardous waste) will be produced and placed on the Framework website.

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate (a) her Department and (b) the Environment Agency has made of the total capacity using separate cells at non-hazardous landfill sites that will be able to accept stable non-reactive waste in each year from 2004 to 2010.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency is examining its records in order to identify those non-hazardous landfill operators who have expressed an interest in constructing a separate cell in their non-hazardous landfill sites for stable non-reactive hazardous waste. When complete, this work will provide a snap-shot of the position that the Hazardous Waste Forum will factor into its work on treatment and disposal capacity post July 2004. Whether or not to provide this disposal option is a commercial decision of the waste management industry.

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the extent to which the Environment Agency's Regulatory Guidance Note 6 will prohibit the development of a separate cell at a non-hazardous landfill site able to take stable non-reactive waste.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency has a duty to protect the environment and the requirements in its Regulatory Guidance Notes are drawn up with this duty to the fore. The technical/regulatory guidance that the Agency has produced on the use of separate cells for stable non-reactive hazardous waste—RGNs 6 and 11—reflect the need to maintain physical separation of the stabilised waste from chemically aggressive leachate from biodegradable waste in the same site. Providing landfill operators act in a responsible manner, there is no reason why RGN 6 should prevent the proper development of separate cells for stable non-reactive hazardous waste at non-hazardous landfill sites.

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what methods were used to treat hazardous liquid waste in 2003; and how much hazardous liquid waste was sent to each of these methods;
	(2)  how much hazardous liquid waste was sent for treatment by landfill in each year from 2000 to 2002.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency is preparing the information requested and I will write to the hon. Member.

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what penalties the European Commission could apply if the United Kingdom were to defer the ban on co-disposal of hazardous wastes with non-hazardous waste resulting from the Landfill Directive; and whether her Department has discussed such deferral with the European Commission.

Elliot Morley: The Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations 2002 implement the provision in the Landfill Directive that bans the co-disposal of different categories of waste, except in certain specified circumstances, from 16 July 2004. The ban is therefore already part of UK legislation approved by Parliament and as a result, there has been no reason to discuss deferral with the European Commission. The question of possible penalties also does not arise.

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action (a) her Department and (b) the Environment Agency have taken to liaise with (i) the Home Office, (ii) police forces and (iii) local authorities to (A) assess levels of risk associated with the unlawful disposal of hazardous waste and (B) implement a strategy to minimise the risk to the environment and human health.

Elliot Morley: Defra worked closely with the Home Office on development of environmental measures in the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003.
	The Anti-social Behaviour Act extends a range of powers, currently only available to the Agency, to waste collection authorities to ensure they can tackle illegal dumping effectively.
	The Act also gives the Secretary of State the power to issue statutory directions to reinforce an existing voluntary agreement between the Local Government Association and the Environment Agency to create a clearer division of responsibilities. Defra published a consultation on proposed statutory directions on 23 February 2004.
	The Environment Agency have worked with Defra and the Local Government Association to develop "Flycapture", the National Fly-Tipping Database, that is due to go live from April 2004. This will assess the scale and cost of illegal dumping in England and Wales.
	Defra also worked closely with the Agency, local authorities and other Government departments to issue a Fly-Tipping Strategy that aims to ensure that legislation to combat fly-tipping is as effective as possible.

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she asked the Minister for Ecology and Sustainable Development in the French Government at meetings of the EU Environment Council why France already requires pre-treatment of hazardous waste; and what response that Minister made.

Elliot Morley: My right hon. Friend discusses all manner of topics with her Ministerial colleagues in the margins of Environment Council meetings. The approach of other Governments in the EU in respect of waste management issues reflect long term attitudes to the environmental problems that can arise if waste is not handled correctly. For its part, it is the aim of this Government to continue to move towards a more sustainable waste management system in the UK by placing greater emphasis on minimising waste and on re-using, recycling, recovering or treating the waste that is produced.

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what volume of hazardous liquid waste was disposed directly to public sewers in 2003; and if she will make a statement on the implications for (a) human health and (b) the environment of such disposal.

Elliot Morley: Data on the volume of liquid waste and waste water discharges to public sewers is not held centrally, but the Environment Agency publishes relevant information pertaining to its regulatory functions in its Pollution Inventory. This information consists of the annual loads of a range of substances released to sewer and controlled waters and is available on the Environment Agency's "What's in your backyard" website (http://216.31.193.171/asp/1 introduction.asp)
	The entry of hazardous substances into sewers in England and Wales is subject to authorisation by sewerage undertakers under the Water Industry Act 1991, by the Environment Agency under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and by the Environment Agency or local authority under the Pollution Prevention Control Act 2000. In determining its authorisations the Environment Agency ensures that discharges which may impact on the environment do not pose a significant risk to human health or the environment.

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what meetings she has had with representatives of the (a) Confederation of British Industry and (b) Chemical Industries Association on developing a strategy to inform waste producers of their obligations under the Landfill Directive.

Elliot Morley: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, and other Defra Ministers meet both organisations as and when necessary and may discuss a range of issues. A strategy to inform waste producers of their obligations under the Landfill Directive is an integral part of the Hazardous Waste Forum's Action Plan, published in December 2003. Both the Confederation of British Industry and the Chemical Industries Association are members of the Forum and were actively involved in drawing up the strategy. Also, both organisations have an important role to play in the delivery of that strategy.

Waste

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what checks are made on low-level radioactive waste sites; how often they are checked; and by whom checks are done.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency (EA), under the provisions of the Radioactive Substances Act 1993, regulates low-Level Radioactive Waste (LLW) disposal sites in England and Wales. This is achieved through authorisations which impose various conditions on the site operator. The authorisations require the operator to routinely report to the EA disposals against the authorised limits. In addition to reviewing these reports, the EA periodically inspects all authorised LLW disposal sites, to ensure that the conditions of the authorisation remain appropriate, and are being complied with.
	The primary UK national LLW disposal site, operated by BNFL at Drigg in West Cumbria, is regulated by both the EA and by the Nuclear Safety Directorate of the Health and Safety Executive, under the provisions of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965.
	The EA monitors radioactivity in surface waters (leachates, boreholes and nearby rivers and streams) around waste disposal (landfill) sites where disposals of low-level radioactive waste are authorised. This is undertaken on an annual or bi-annual basis.
	BNFL undertake quarterly monitoring programmes of boreholes at the Clifton Marsh landfill site. In addition the company carries out quarterly dose rate surveys in relation to the Ulnes Walton landfill site and monitoring of the River Lostock close to the outfall point. The results of these monitoring programmes can be found on the BNFL website at www.bnfl.com.
	The EA undertakes a thorough radioactivity monitoring regime in the vicinity of the Drigg site. This includes monitoring of surface waters and sediments bi-annually and monitoring of sands, sediments and seaweeds on the West Cumbrian coast four times per year. The Food Standards Agency also carries out monitoring of foods in West Cumbria to check that food produced around Sellafield and Drigg is safe. The monitoring includes seafoods caught from the Irish Sea off the West Cumbrian coast.
	From 2002, the results of all the environmental monitoring carried out by the Environment Agency and by the Food Standards Agency are reported jointly and annually in the Radioactivity in Food and the Environment report series, copies of which are placed in the Library.

Air Quality Expert Group

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the (a) total budget and (b) budget for administration were for the Air Quality Expert Group in financial year 2002–03.

Alun Michael: The estimated total budget for AQEG in financial year 2002–03 was £74,000. The estimated administration budget was £27,500, based on the costs of Defra staff resources to run the Secretariat.

Asgard Systems

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under what circumstances a court action may be brought against the Environment Agency concerning the quality of advice given by the Agency on an enquiry by a business or member of the public; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: I am advised that where a public body, such as the Environment Agency, has given advice to a person, that person may be able to bring some form of court action against the public body if that body has acted in some way that is improper, negligent or in breach of its statutory duties. The nature and likely merits of any such action would depend on the particular circumstances of the case. Consequently, any person thinking of taking legal action against a public body would be well advised to seek independent legal advice before doing so.

Batteries (Disposal)

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will hold a consultation exercise on the forthcoming EU directive on the disposal and recycling of batteries.

Elliot Morley: The Government intend to issue a consultation document on the draft Batteries Directive this spring.

Biosafety Protocol

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what position the UK took at the recent meeting of parties to the Biosafety Protocol in Kuala Lumpur in relation to the creation of an international liability regime.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 8 March 2004
	In line with the EU's common position (as set out in December's Environment Council Conclusions), the UK supported the adoption of a process with respect to the appropriate elaboration of international rules and procedures in the field of liability and redress for damage resulting from transboundary movements of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and making a final report to the meeting of the Parties within four years (by 2008).
	The EU/UK position was that the most appropriate mechanism for this process should be a group of technical and legal experts.

Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many human cases of M.bovis have been linked to occupational exposure to infected cattle in the last 10 years.

Melanie Johnson: I have been asked to reply.
	There are no official records for occupational exposure, though two cases, themselves linked, are reported to have been linked to occupation in recent years. The most up to date available figures for human M.bovis infection in England and Wales since 1993 are shown in the table. Figures are not yet available for 2002.
	
		
			 Year Total M.bovis human infections 
		
		
			 1993 37 
			 1994 31 
			 1995 20 
			 1996 32 
			 1997 30 
			 1998 30 
			 1999 31 
			 2000 18 
			 2001 (12)27 
		
	
	(12) Provisional data
	Source:
	MycobNet Health Protection Agency Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre 1993–2001.

Cetaceans

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures the Government have taken since 1997, and what further measures are proposed, to reduce the number of dolphins and porpoises killed; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Since 1997, the Government have funded a number of research projects to identify fisheries in which dolphin and porpoise bycatch occurs and to develop and trial measures to reduce this bycatch. This work has led in particular to the identification of a dolphin bycatch problem in the offshore pair trawl fishery for bass and the development of an escape grid mechanism as a potential means of reducing this bycatch. Trials of this device are currently taking place. Work has also identified that acoustic devices known as pingers are effective in reducing bycatch of harbour porpoises in fixed gear fisheries.
	Alongside this work this Department, along with devolved Administrations, published in March 2003 the UK Small Cetacean Bycatch Response Strategy which made a number of recommendations to reduce bycatch. We are currently considering responses to this consultation document with a view to the implementation of this strategy. As EU measures will be most effective in reducing bycatch in community waters, the strategy will need to take account of the outcome of current discussions on European Commission proposals to reduce bycatch. I welcome the Commission proposals and I am looking for their early implementation.

Departmental Premises (Chelmsford)

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department plans to sell its premises in Beeches Road, Chelmsford; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: Defra does not own premises at Beeches Road, Chelmsford; it leases space from Department of Works and Pensions. We have no plans to leave.

Ducks

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many ducks other than ruddy ducks, broken down by species, have been culled as a result of the ruddy duck control scheme.

Ben Bradshaw: A total of five ducks other than ruddy ducks have been killed during shooting operations since April 1999; two female tufted ducks, one male tufted duck, one male teal and one juvenile long-tailed duck, this compares to a total of over 4,200 ruddy ducks shot.
	A further seven ducks (mallard chicks) died during the trap-testing which took place during the control trial. This compares to 17 ruddy ducks trapped.
	The killing of non-target birds is taken very seriously and every effort is made to minimise such losses. The Standard Operating Procedures issued to all field operatives make it clear that there should be a high degree of vigilance over identification and that shooting should only take place if safe to do so without causing injury or death to non-target species.

End of Life Vehicles Directive

Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many vehicle dismantlers registered with the Environmental Agency for a site licence before the 1 February deadline under implementation of the European End of Life Vehicles Directive; and how many vehicle dismantlers she estimates are operating without licences.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency received 600 applications from vehicle dismantlers wanting to register for their site licences before the 31 January deadline. In addition, 900 sites are already licensed to treat ELVs.
	It is very difficult to estimate how many vehicle dismantlers are operating without a licence because registered exempt sites may continue to accept depolluted ELVs. The agency has yet to check how many previously exempt sites have not applied for a licence, but these sites are mainly small scale and already operate to high standards of environmental protection.

Environmentally Sustainable Procurement

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in what ways environmentally sustainable procurement strategies within the Department have driven innovation in the design and supply of products.

Elliot Morley: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State set out an overview of the Government's approach to sustainable procurement on 30 October 2003, Official Report, column 15WS, signalling how recommendations from the inter-departmental Sustainable Procurement Group (SPG) would be taken forward.
	The emphasis in the first phase of action will be on the frameworks for sustainable procurement practice and the embedding across Government of minimum specification standards which represent good environmental practice. We consider that these are essential steps towards tackling the still tougher challenge of encouraging environmental innovation through public procurement.
	The report of the SPG (www.sustainable-development. gov.uk/sdig/improving/partf/report03/08.htm) recommended that the theme of sustainable procurement and innovation should be a focus for further work over the coming year. That work has now started, and will be taken forward in the context also of the Government's Innovation Report, published by the Department of Trade and Industry in December (www.dti.gov.uk/innovationreport/innovation-report-full.pdf).
	It is expected that the forthcoming procurement section of the "Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate" (see http://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/sdig/improving/index.htnn) will set Government wide commitments for embedding sustainable development considerations in departmental procurement strategies.

Fallen Stock

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the implications for farmers of delays in the start-up of the fallen stock collection service; and what arrangement she has put in place to exempt farmers from possible prosecution under the EU directive on prevention of burying deadstock.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 5 March 2004
	The ban on burial has been in place since 1 May 2003 and, as we made clear then, we expect farmers to use existing approved outlets such as knacker yards, hunt kennels, maggot farms, rendering facilities or incineration plants for disposal of their fallen stock. However, we have asked local authorities to take a pragmatic approach to enforcement where farmers have made every effort to dispose of their fallen stock via these outlets but are genuinely unable to comply.

Fallen Stock

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people signed up to the fallen stock collection scheme, broken down by region.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 5 March 2004
	There has been no invitation to farmers to sign up to the National Fallen Stock Scheme. Initial expressions of interest in joining the scheme were sought from farmers last year.

Farm Payments

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in what circumstances the Government are unable to disclose the names and addresses of (a) individuals and (b) companies in receipt of direct payments under the Common Agricultural Policy; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is bound by commercial confidentiality in its dealings with its customers, whether sole traders or farmers or corporations, breach of which by disclosing information relating to the affairs of individual traders or farmers or corporations would expose the RPA to the liability of legal proceedings in tort.
	In relation to individual farmers or traders, information which is of a personal nature, such as individual payments to such persons, is personal data which is protected from voluntary disclosure under the Data Protection Act 1998. While the RPA can release global figures relating to payments, which do not identify individual persons, including corporations, it is unable to release individual figures without incurring the liabilities under the two principles referred to.

GM Crops

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many GM plants per square metre would be expected to grown in a field of conventional crops of which 0.9 per cent. of plants are GM in respect of (a) oil seed rape, (b) sugar beet and (c) maize.

Elliot Morley: holding answers 2 March 2004
	Seed drilling rate is variable, depending on conditions, and only a proportion of those seeds sown will establish. Approximate figures for established plants are as follows: Oilseed rape 50–60 crop plants per metre square; Beet 8–10 plants per metre square; and, Fodder Maize 10 plants per metre square. Accordingly, 0.9 per cent. of these values would give 0.45–0.54 plants per metre square for Oilseed Rape; 0.07–0.09 plants per metre square for Beet; and, 0.09 plants per metre square for Maize.

Household Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the legislative changes required to allow local authorities to adopt direct and variable charging schemes for the collection and disposal of household waste.

Elliot Morley: Amendments to sections 45 and 51 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 would be required to allow waste collection authorities and waste disposal authorities to charge householders for the collection, processing, treatment and disposal of household waste and for household waste delivered to Civic Amenity sites respectively. Provision would also need to be made under such powers for secondary legislation to provide for the exercise of those powers by local authorities.

Landfill

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for how long after use of a landfill site has been discontinued low-level radioactive waste monitoring is carried out.

Elliot Morley: Responsibility for regular annual monitoring of radioactivity in the environment around landfill sites in England and Wales rests with the Environment Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency for Scotland.
	There is no fixed time after which monitoring for radioactivity around landfill sites will cease to be undertaken once they cease to receive radioactive wastes. Monitoring programmes are kept under review and any decision to discontinue monitoring is only made after careful evaluation. Evaluation takes into account the inventory of waste disposed to a site, including the radionuclides and quantities, the characteristics of the disposal site, and whether monitoring results have shown that radioactivity is consistently low or not detectable.
	The results of radioactivity monitoring carried out around landfill sites are reported annually. Results for 2002 are presented in Radioactivity in Food and the Environment Report (RIFE—8), which is available in the House of Commons Library.

Meat and Livestock Commission

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding was given to the Meat and Livestock Commission in each of the last five years.

Alun Michael: Funding (ie from net Statutory Levy income and non-commercial fee and grant income) received by the Meat and Livestock Commission in the last five years was as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1998–99 39.566 
			 1999–2000 38.461 
			 2000–01 36.668 
			 2001–02 27.667 
			 2002–03 31.531

Meat and Livestock Commission

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how her Department's funding to the Meat and Livestock Commission is spent; and what rules apply to the promotion of (a) Welsh (i) lamb and (ii) beef, (b) Scottish (i) lamb and (ii) beef and (c) English (i) lamb and (ii) beef.

Alun Michael: The Agriculture Act 1967 requires the Department to pay for the remuneration and expenses of Meat and Livestock (MLC) Commissioners. As regards how the MLC spend the statutory general and promotional levies raised by them on cattle, sheep and pigs, this information is available in the MLC's annual report and accounts which Ministers are required under the Act to lay before each House of Parliament.
	Bodies in receipt of MLC levy funding must abide by EU State Aid rules when undertaking lamb or beef promotion campaigns. These rules place restrictions on the use of State (including levy) funds for the advertising of agricultural products on the basis of origin. Welsh lamb, Welsh beef, Scotch lamb and Scotch beef have been awarded Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status by the European Commission. This means that the European Commission has accepted the link between the geographical origin and the characteristics of the product. In such cases, State money may be used to fund advertising where origin is part of the message. English lamb and English beef do not have PGI status.

Mobile Homes

David Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will provide financial assistance for owners of mobile homes in flood risk areas who are required by their insurance company to raise their homes above flood level; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Government do not offer financial assistance for homes in flood risk areas. Financial issues relating to maintenance and insurance of the property are the responsibility of the property owner.
	For mobile homes as with other properties, insurers will examine the risks on a case-by-case basis, and will use their best efforts to continue to provide cover. The Association of British Insurers believes that nearly all homes are insurable to a degree, provided appropriate action is taken to protect the property, eg by raising homes above flood level.

National Fruit Collection

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will make a statement on the land ownership issues at Brogdale as they affect the National Fruit Collection;
	(2)  if she will make a statement on the future of the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale;
	(3)  if she will make a statement on the criteria her Department used to assess a suitable manager for the National Fruit Collection.

Alun Michael: The National Fruit Collection belongs to Defra and we have contracts with Brogdale Horticulture Trust covering its maintenance and curation; and with Imperial College (Wye) on scientific programme direction. Under overriding lease provisions, agreed some years ago, we have access to the NFC until 2016, irrespective of land ownership or land holding considerations. We have been holding a number of discussions with Brogdale Horticulture Trust about the future curation contract arrangements which we hope to conclude shortly.

Radioactive Waste

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what mechanisms she is evaluating to ensure that people hundreds of years hence are aware of (a) the presence and (b) the dangers of existing radioactive material which has a half-life extending beyond hundreds of years;
	(2)  what safeguards she intends to put in place to prevent radioactive contamination of future generations from (a) existing stocks of (i) intermediate level and (ii) high-level radioactive material and (b) from stocks predicted to arise over the next 50 years.

Elliot Morley: The safe operation of interim radioactive material and waste storage and eventual disposal facilities is a matter for regulatory control by the Health and Safety Executive and the environment agencies. Both Ministers and the regulatory bodies require safety cases submitted for the operation of such facilities to provide demonstration of adequate protection of the public and the environment both now and into the future. The Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) has been set up under the "Managing Radioactive Waste Safely" programme to provide recommendations to UK Government and the devolved Administrations on the best option, or combination of options, for safe long-term management of the UK's higher activity radioactive wastes, including all intermediate and high level waste, liable to arise in the foreseeable future.

Water Charges

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the percentage change in charges to householders for water charges in the last five years, broken down by region; and what advice has been given to water providers with respect to such charges.

Elliot Morley: Water bills and sewerage bills are set separately by each water and sewerage company and water company in England and Wales. The boundaries of these companies do not conform to the boundaries between England and Wales nor to the boundaries between English regions. It has therefore not been possible to make assessments on the basis requested.
	The Director General of Water Services (Ofwat) sets upper price limits for water and sewerage companies and approves companies' yearly charges schemes for customers. The Secretary of State issues guidance to Ofwat on Government policies affecting price limits and on the approval of charges schemes.
	The average household water and sewerage bills for each company in England and Wales in each financial year since 1996–97 are set out in the following two tables.
	
		Nominal average household sewerage bill (£)
		
			  1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 20000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Anglian 154 158 164 156 144 151 157 163 
			 Dwr Cymru 136 146 158 166 140 147 152 155 
			 North West 109 122 133 143 119 122 113 116 
			 Northumbrian 113 118 126 141 110 112 96 101 
			 Severn Trent 106 112 117 115 92 95 211 221 
			 South West 202 213 229 237 205 203 152 159 
			 Southern 131 141 152 162 148 153 93 95 
			 Thames 93 98 102 104 92 95 122 127 
			 Wessex 129 135 142 144 124 133 133 142 
			 Yorkshire 113 115 118 123 109 112 112 117 
			 England and Wales 117 123 131 134 116 119 121 125 
		
	
	
		Nominal average household water bill (£)
		
			  1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Anglian 128 126 124 116 107 110 113 116 
			 Hartlepool 88 91 96 95 — — — — 
			 Dwr Cymru 128 135 136 134 126 123 124 122 
			 North West 93 99 101 103 103 107 109 118 
			 Northumbrian 96 98 102 100 88 88 88 90 
			 Essex and Suffolk 116 120 127 129 107 112 111 113 
			 Severn Trent 88 97 105 113 106 108 108 112 
			 South West 127 129 125 119 109 110 115 121 
			 Southern 94 101 105 111 91 91 90 91 
			 Thames 88 93 99 102 95 99 104 106 
			 Wessex 114 118 124 124 107 112 113 119 
			 Yorkshire 104 105 108 111 100 103 104 110 
			 York 87 89 93 96 87 90 90 94 
			 Bournemouth and West Hampshire 94 97 103 102 99 98 101 102 
			 Bristol 100 104 108 111 101 105 106 107 
			 Cambridge 103 106 106 98 86 87 90 94 
			 Cholderton 126 130 151 136 130 141 153 143 
			 Dee Valley — — — 120 107 106 104 106 
			 Chester 106 108 108 — — — — — 
			 Wrexham 130 129 129 — — — — — 
			 Folkestone and Dover 114 118 116 117 118 125 125 135 
			 Mid Kent 131 135 141 146 117 123 127 128 
			 Portsmouth 72 72 73 74 74 75 75 76 
			 Mid South East — — — — 118 114 121 126 
			 South East 156 155 158 159 — — — — 
			 Mid Southern 114 115 116 120 — — — — 
			 South Staffs 75 78 81 85 84 86 86 89 
			 Sutton and East Surrey 136 135 139 134 112 120 121 126 
			 Tendring Hundred 149 150 152 151 137 142 146 153 
			 Three Valleys 107 112 117 124 106 111 112 116 
			 North Surrey 108 112 123 126 109 111 103 110 
			 England and Wales 101 106 112 112 103 105 107 111

TREASURY

Compliance Performance Targets

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answers of 26 January 2004, Official Report, column 110W, and 1 March 2004, Official Report, column 658W, on compliance performance targets, what the compliance performance estimate the for Inland Revenue was for 2003–04 as agreed as part of the planning process for the current year; and what the estimates for the compliance performance were in 2003–04 of (a) the Large Business Office and (b) International Division.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue has not drawn up compliance performance estimates since 1999–2000, when a global estimate for the Department was given. As the Board's report for 2003 sets out, yield figures vary according to the number and tax effect of the complex enquiries brought to settlement in each year, and this is also affected by the consequences of litigation undertaken.

Project ASPIRE

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2004, Official Report, column 575W, on the Inland Revenue, which commissioners of the Inland Revenue had prior knowledge of the suppliers with whom the Inland Revenue team intended to meet as part of the market making exercise for Project ASPIRE.

Dawn Primarolo: As the Board member responsible for Business Services, Tim Flesher had prior knowledge of the suppliers with whom the Inland Revenue team intended to meet as part of the Market Making exercise for Project ASPIRE.

Project ASPIRE

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer who the board member referred to in paragraph 54 of the Minutes of Evidence of the Public Accounts Committee, HC 431-i, Session 1999–2000, as responsible for John Yard's division on 12 April 2000 was; on what date that board member started the planning for re-tendering the Inland Revenue's information technology service referred to in the Minutes of Evidence; and on what date it was decided to conduct the market making exercise referred to in the Minutes of Evidence.

Dawn Primarolo: As I stated in my answer of 6 February 2004, Official Report, column 1081W, the Board member responsible for Business Services on 12 April 2000 was Tim Flesher, who at that time was the Inland Revenue's Deputy Chairman. As I also stated in my answer of 16 December 2003, Official Report, column 803W, planning for the ASPIRE project began in January 2001. The Market making exercise was conceived by the Inland Revenue between August and October 2001, as stated in my answer of 14 October 2003, Official Report, column 141W.

Project ASPIRE

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2004, Official Report, columns 569–70W, which commissioners were present at the meeting on 7 March 2002 on Project ASPIRE; whether the commissioners addressed the assembled suppliers; and whether the commissioners were informed in advance of those suppliers who had indicated that they would attend the meeting.

Dawn Primarolo: Sir Nicholas Montagu KCB, Chairman of the Inland Revenue, and Tim Flesher, the former Deputy Chairman of the Inland Revenue were present at the meeting on 7 March 2002. Both addressed the meeting and had been informed in advance about which suppliers would attend the meeting.

Public Sector Borrowing

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) public, (b) private and (c) total borrowing of (i) those higher education institutions in receipt of funding from the Higher Education Funding Councils, (ii) housing associations and (iii) Network Rail was in each year from 1997–98 to 2002–03; and what the latest available figures are for the (A) public, (B) private and (C) total debt of each.

Paul Boateng: Details of the borrowing for academic years 1997–81 to 2002–03 by higher education institutions in receipt of funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England were published for each year by HEFCE in their "Outcomes of financial forecasts, annual monitoring statements and corporate planning statements", copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House.
	Details of the borrowing for financial years 1997–98 to 2002–03 by housing associations are available in the Housing Corporation's Annual Private Finance Monitoring Bulletins 1998 to 2003, copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House.
	Network Rail has been responsible for operating, maintaining and renewing Britain's rail infrastructure only since October 2002. Consequently, 2002–03 is the only financial year for which published information on borrowing is available. This is in the company's annual report and accounts copies of which are available in the Library of the House. None of their borrowing at the end of the year was from the public sector. The position for the current year is not yet publicly available.

Redundancy Money

Vera Baird: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to review the threshold at which tax is paid on redundancy money.

Dawn Primarolo: As with all taxes the threshold at which tax is paid on redundancy money is a matter for the Chancellor to consider as part of the annual Budget process.

Scottish Football Industry

Pete Wishart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what responsibilities his Department has in relation to the Scottish football industry; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 27 February 2004
	Sport is primarily a devolved matter in Scotland and so the responsibility of the Scottish Executive. In relation to non devolved fiscal aspects, the 2003 Pre-Budget Report announced that the Government is to consider how it can best help to support Football Supporters' Trusts, in particular by a review of how they are treated by the Inland Revenue.

Small Business Taxation

Colin Pickthall: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 3 March, Official Report, column 910W, on small business taxation, what plans he has to change the taxation of small businesses.

Dawn Primarolo: All taxes are reviewed as part of the annual Budget process.

Timber

Joan Walley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what construction and refurbishment HM Treasury is undertaking; at what locations; and what measures are being implemented to ensure that all timber used (a) on the construction sites and (b) in the final project will come from legal and sustainable sources.

Ruth Kelly: The Treasury is not undertaking any construction and refurbishment projects. The Department moved into refurbished premises at 1 Horse Guards Road in the summer of 2002.

Timber

Joan Walley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which companies have contracts for furniture provision for HM Treasury; and what measures have been implemented to ensure that when a product contains wood, it can be shown to come from legal and sustainable sources.

Ruth Kelly: The Treasury purchases its furniture though direct contracts and framework agreements let by OGC Buying Solutions or Inland Revenue. In all cases there are clauses in the contract that require any wood products to come from sustainable sources.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Housing Benefit

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason the Housing Benefit Regulations (a) require a Rent Officer to review the rent of a private landlord and (b) do not require a rent officer to review the rent of a registered social landlord.

Chris Pond: Claims received from those in the private rented sector will generally be referred to the local Rent Officer for a rental valuation to determine the HB claim. The Rent Officer will look at the level of rents within the neighbourhood as well as in the wider locality. Any subsequent restriction in the rent used to calculate Housing Benefit will reflect a reasonable market rent for suitable accommodation of the appropriate size within the locality. This ensures that benefit paid to claimants is sufficient to pay for an appropriate dwelling whilst, at the same time, protecting the public purse.
	Generally, local authorities are not required to refer registered social landlord (RSL) tenancies to the rent officer for determination; the full contractual rent, less any ineligible charges, is used to calculate Housing Benefit. RSL rents are subject to Housing Corporation regulation and are generally set within prevailing market levels. However, where the local authority considers the rent to be excessive, or the accommodation overlarge for the tenant's needs, it is required to refer the tenancy to the Rent Officer. Where a tenancy is referred to a Rent Officer, Housing Benefit would be restricted to a maximum rent in the usual way.

Age Discrimination

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Code of Practice on age discrimination in the workplace.

Malcolm Wicks: The Code of Practice was launched in 1999 and an initial evaluation of its impact was, undertaken in 2001. This showed that the number of companies using age in recruitment had fallen from 27 per cent. to 13 per cent., awareness of the Code had risen from 14 per cent. to 37 per cent. and the number of companies having a policy against employing older workers had dropped from 14 per cent. to 7 per cent. Since then we have continued to promote the business case for recruiting, training and retaining older workers through the Age Positive, campaign and website, www.agepositive.gov.uk. We are commissioning more research with employers this year to further assess the impact of the campaign.
	In December 2002, we published an updated version of the Code of Practice 'Age Diversity at work: a practical guide for business' which sets out the standards for non-ageist approaches to recruitment, training, promotion, redundancy and retirement. The campaign, which since last year has included enhanced promotion in Wales and Scotland, has been attracting considerable media coverage. This has resulted in a considerable increase in employer interest across the whole of Great Britain, as well as much increased traffic to the website. A sample survey of employers undertaken by Cranfield School of Management in 2003 indicated that a third of employers believe they have non-ageist policies in place and a further third were planning to adopt non-ageist policies within the coming two years. Copies of the survey have been placed in the Library.

Benefit Payments

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) child benefit recipients, (b) pensioners and (c) other benefit recipients received payments (i) into bank accounts, (ii) into Post Office Card Accounts and (iii) through post offices using pension and benefit books in (A) Greater London and (B) each London borough at the most recent date for which figures are available.

Chris Pond: The available information requested is shown by each London local authority as at 24 January 2004. Child benefit is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and War Pensions are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Defence.
	
		Recipients of benefits in London local authorities broken down by method of payment
		
			  Total Bank accounts Percentage of recipients paid by bank account Post Office card account Percentage of recipients paid by Post Office card account Order book Percentage of recipients paid by Order book 
		
		
			 Non pensioners   
			 All London local authorities 828,255 417,105 46.66 22,625 2.53 388,525 43.46  
			 Inner London-West 111,460 57,920 48.28 4,190 3.49 49,345 41.13  
			 Camden 28,255 14,950 48.64 790 2.57 12,515 40.73  
			 City of London 535 300 50.51 15 2.71 220 37.12  
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 20,915 11,015 49.35 1,270 5.68 8,630 38.66 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 14,435 8,010 52.17 735 4.77 5,690 37.07 
			 Wandsworth 25,365 12,090 44.03 505 1.85 12,765 46.48 
			 Westminster 21,960 11,555 49.14 875 3.72 9,525 40.51 
			 Inner London—East 280,320 130,965 42.86 9,020 2.95 140,330 45.92 
			 Hackney 36,715 17,565 44.16 1,645 4.13 17,505 44.01 
			 Haringey 32,610 15,350 42.78 845 2.35 16,415 45.76 
			 Islington 30,925 15,445 46.42 1,475 4.43 14,005 42.10 
			 Lambeth 37,010 16,805 40.52 1,015 2.45 19,195 46.28 
			 Lewisham 32,370 15,720 43.48 685 1.89 15,965 44.15 
			 Newham 39,415 18,175 43.17 1,395 3.32 19,845 47.14 
			 Southwark 37,510 17,510 42.87 1,095 2.68 18,905 46.28 
			 Tower Hamlets 33,765 14,400 39.92 875 2.42 18,495 51.28 
			 Outer London—East and North East 178,745 87,990 45.99 3,350 1.75 87,410 45.68 
			 Barking and Dagenham 25,100 10,630 39.41 510 1.89 13,965 51.76 
			 Bexley 18,845 10,490 52.77 425 2.14 7,930 39.88 
			 Enfield 32,615 16,155 46.83 825 2.40 15,635 45.33 
			 Greenwich 30,805 14,350 42.36 700 2.07 15,760 46.52 
			 Havering 19,870 10,225 49.05 175 0.84 9,470 45.43 
			 Redbridge 23,750 12,650 51.03 285 1.14 10,815 43.62 
			 Waltham Forest 27,760 13,490 44.27 430 1.41 13,840 45.42 
			 Outer London—South 92,090 49,665 49.84 1,600 1.61 40,820 40.96 
			 Bromley 23,095 13,315 53.61 695 2.80 9,085 36.59 
			 Croydon 32,835 16,805 46.97 495 1.38 15,540 43.44 
			 Kingston upon Thames 8,775 4,875 51.31 50 0.54 3,850 40.55 
			 Merton 13,785 7,390 49.11 160 1.07 6,235 41.46 
			 Sutton 13,595 7,290 50.22 200 1.37 6,110 42.11 
			 Outer London—West and North West 165,645 90,565 51.05 4,460 2.51 70,620 39.81 
			 Barnet 27,900 15,590 52.06 690 2.30 11,620 38.80 
			 Brent 32,805 17,980 50.71 1,220 3.44 13,605 38.37 
			 Ealing 33,155 18,100 51.38 1,370 3.89 13,680 38.84 
			 Harrow 17,120 9,665 52.83 130 0.71 7,320 40.02 
			 Hillingdon 21,985 10,680 45.04 165 0.69 11,140 46.96 
			 Hounslow 22,890 12,650 51.96 700 2.87 9,540 39.19 
			 Richmond upon Thames 9,795 5,895 56.56 190 1.80 3,715 35.64 
			 
			 Pensioners
			 All London local authorities 1,193,680 683,865 56.94 6,540 0.54 503,275 41.91 
			 Inner London—West 139,105 82,270 58.66 540 0.39 56,295 40.14 
			 Camden 28,155 16,235 57.23 105 0.37 11,815 41.64 
			 City of London 1,095 820 74.89 0 0.18 270 24.84 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 23,460 13,110 55.47 125 0.53 10,220 43.24 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 22,040 15,210 68.11 70 0.32 6,755 30.26 
			 Wandsworth 36,145 19,360 53.29 165 0.45 16,620 45.74 
			 Westminster 28,215 17,535 61.55 70 0.25 10,610 37.25 
			 Inner London—East 247,080 111,290 44.79 1,360 0.55 134,435 54.11 
			 Hackney 26,940 10,535 38.88 140 0.52 16,260 60.00 
			 Haringey 29,875 15,365 51.08 125 0.42 14,385 47.81 
			 Islington 25,225 10,170 40.12 185 0.73 14,870 58.65 
			 Lambeth 32,680 16,345 49.72 150 0.46 16,185 49.22 
			 Lewisham 37,080 18,485 49.62 270 0.72 18,325 49.19 
			 Newham 34,670 15,740 45.10 220 0.62 18,715 53.61 
			 Southwark 33,235 15,465 46.31 165 0.50 17,600 52.70 
			 Tower Hamlets 27,380 9,175 33.37 105 0.38 18,100 65.82 
			 Outer London—East and North East 299,935 163,500 54.27 2,210 0.73 134,225 44.55 
			 Barking and Dagenham 31,055 12,480 40.04 230 0.74 18,345 58.86 
			 Bexley 46,295 27,615 59.45 465 1.00 18,220 39.22 
			 Enfield 51,420 30,210 58.38 265 0.51 20,945 40.48 
			 Greenwich 36,440 18,280 49.98 315 0.86 17,845 48.80 
			 Havering 52,740 29,500 55.75 485 0.92 22,750 42.99 
			 Redbridge 44,350 25,935 58.18 225 0.50 18,190 40.81 
			 Waltham Forest 37,635 19,480 51.49 225 0.60 17,925 47.38 
			 Outer London—South 212,300 136,705 64.00 1,285 0.60 74,310 34.79 
			 Bromley 66,035 44,310 66.69 380 0.57 21,345 32.13 
			 Croydon 57,090 36,205 63.07 380 0.66 20,500 35.71 
			 Kingston upon Thames 25,015 16,610 66.00 135 0.54 8,270 32.85 
			 Merton 29,870 17,990 59.80 165 0.55 11,715 38.94 
			 Sutton 34,290 21,590 62.57 220 0.63 12,480 36.17 
			 Outer London—West and North West 295,260 190,100 63.93 1,145 0.39 104,015 34.98 
			 Barnet 56,620 37,880 66.27 175 0.30 18,565 32.48 
			 Brent 39,965 23,465 58.34 185 0.46 16,315 40.57 
			 Ealing 50,815 32,095 62.73 235 0.46 18,485 36.13 
			 Harrow 39,440 27,220 68.50 115 0.29 12,105 30.47 
			 Hillingdon 43,780 27,630 62.77 200 0.46 15,950 36.24 
			 Hounslow 34,825 21,255 60.72 130 0.37 13,440 38.40 
			 Richmond upon Thames 29,820 20,565 68.43 105 0.35 9,150 30.45 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures refer to a snapshot of live accounts in payment on 24 January 2004.
	2. The figures relate to number of accounts not claimants, (a customer may be in receipt of more than one benefit)
	3. Some bank/building society accounts can be used at a Post Office to access money.
	4. For confidentiality reasons, all figures are rounded to the nearest
	5. Figures may therefore not sum to the totals shown
	Source:
	IAD Information Centre, 100 per cent. sample

Care Grants

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much money has been allocated in care grants in each year since 1999 (a) in total for England and (b) broken down by local authority.

Chris Pond: The available information for England is in the table.
	
		Community Care Grant budget and expenditure for Englandsince 1999 -- £
		
			  Initial budget Contingency Reserve allocation Total allocation Expenditure 
		
		
			 1999–2000 77.14 0.34 77.48 77.38 
			 2000–01 78.71 0.26 78.97 78.87 
			 2001–02 80.95 0.21 81.15 80.62 
			 2002–03 84.91 0.81 85.72 85.02 
			 2003–04 92.72 0.36 93.08 — 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. All figures are given in millions.
	2. Figures are rounded to the nearest £0.01 million.
	3. Figures may not sum due to rounding.
	4. The Contingency Reserve allocation for 2003–04 is the allocation so far this year.
	Source:
	DWP figures; Social Fund Policy Budget and Management Information System
	The information is not available at local authority level.
	Initial budgets and contingency reserve allocations are set at Social Fund/Jobcentre Plus district level. Information regarding all district initial budgets and contingency reserve allocations are available in the Library; this includes information regarding the impact of boundary changes made in 2002–03.

Council Tax Benefit

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are claiming Council Tax Benefit.

Chris Pond: The information is not available in the format requested.
	As at August 2003, 4,657,400 households were in receipt of Council Tax Benefit in Great Britain.
	Source:
	DWP Data 100 per cent. sample (figures rounded to nearest hundred).

Ministerial Speeches

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many speeches he made between 9 June 2003 and 1 February 2004; and where a copy of each speech can be obtained.

Andrew Smith: I and members of the Government make a number of speeches on a wide range of domestic and international issues. Copies of my speeches are available on the Departmental website at www. dwp.gov.uk (contained within the Media Centre then Ministers Speeches).

Westminster Hall

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to have senior Ministers reply to debates in Westminster Hall.

Andrew Smith: I refer my hon. Member to the Written answer given by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House on 8 March 2004, Official Report, column 1234W.

Winter Fuel Payments

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have requested application forms for winter fuel payments via e-mail in each year since the facility became available.

Malcolm Wicks: During the 2002–03 Winter Fuel Payment exercise there were 250 requests for a Winter Fuel Payment claim form via e-mail. To date for this winter 2003–04 there have been 410 requests for a Winter Fuel Payment claim form via e-mail.

Funding (Dorset)

Jim Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what grants were awarded to local authorities in Dorset by his Department in financial year 2003–04 that fall outside the revenue support grant.

Chris Pond: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Local and Regional Government on 1 March 2004, Official Report, column 750W.

HOME DEPARTMENT

"Reducing Crime, Changing Lives"

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last met representatives of NAPO to discuss the implications of the Carter Report; and when he next plans to meet NAPO representatives on this subject.

Paul Goggins: As the Minister responsible for the Probation Service I meet at least twice a year with representatives of the relevant trade unions, including National Association of Probation Officers in the Ministerial Trade Union Forum. The last meeting was held on 17 December prior to the publication of Patrick Carter's report and the Home Office response, "Reducing Crime—Changing Lives".

"Reducing Crime, Changing Lives"

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultation took place, and for what period, on the plans contained in, "Reducing Crime, Changing Lives".

Paul Goggins: "Reducing Crime, Changing Lives" was published on 6 January. The closing date for responses was 3 March.

"The Old and the New" Report

Peter Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will implement the recommendations of the report The New and the Old from the Life in the United Kingdom Advisory Group.

Beverley Hughes: I refer my hon. Friend to the Written Ministerial Statement made by my right hon. Friend, Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 2 February 2004. Official Report, column WS13, and to the related papers deposited in the Library, which set out the steps we are taking to implement the recommendations of the report.

EU Accession States

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the statement by the Home Secretary on 23 February 2004, Official Report, columns 23–36, on immigration from the accession states, what assessment he has made of the impact of the policy on the recruitment of health care professionals to work in the UK.

Beverley Hughes: Relevantly qualified healthcare professionals from the EU accession states will be able to work in the United Kingdom after accession.
	All nationals from Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania who find work in the UK will be required to apply to register with the Home Office under the new 'Worker Registration Scheme' as soon as they find work. This should have no impact on the ability of the NHS to recruit health care professionals from EU accession states.

EU Accession States

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  to whom and how often employers will be required to forward the number of EU accession citizens in their employ; whether employers will be permitted to charge the employee for such registrations; and whether employers will be fined if they fail to keep such information up-to-date;
	(2)  whether the issuing of a worker's registration certificate will enable a citizen of an EU accession state to look for work in the United Kingdom if employment is not already guaranteed;
	(3)  who will issue the registration certificate enabling EU accession nationals to work in the UK; and whether there will be a charge for such a certificate;
	(4)  when the work registration certificates enabling EU accession states citizens to work in the UK will begin to be issued; for how long such a certificate will enable the holder to seek work; and whether it will be necessary for such certificates to be re-applied for should the holder move to another part of the UK from that in which their initial employment was found.

Beverley Hughes: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary indicated in his statement to the House on 23 February 2003, Official Report columns 23–25, that, from 1 May, accession country nationals will have free movement across EU borders. They will not be required to apply for entry clearance to travel to the United Kingdom in search of work. With the exception of Malta and Cyprus, citizens of the new member states will need to register with the Home Office when they find a job in the UK, providing information about where and for whom they are working. Employers will be required to satisfy themselves that accession country nationals in their employ apply for and receive registration under this scheme.
	The registration scheme will be run by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. The Directorate is looking into whether all or part of the administrative costs of the scheme could be recovered through charges.
	Registration under the scheme will be issued for 12 months, and within that period will be valid for as long as the worker is in the registered employment. The worker should apply to renew the registration if he or she finds a job with a new employer. Registration under the scheme will apply only to workers in the United Kingdom, not to those who are not working.

EU Accession States

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what restrictions he plans to introduce to prevent unwanted mass immigration after accession of Eastern European countries to the EU in May.

Beverley Hughes: Based on research and experience of previous accession, the Home Office does not expect migration from the accession countries after May 1 to be at levels which would damage the labour market. Measures to ensure we can both monitor the impact on the labour market and prevent access to work-seeking benefits, child benefit and housing support were announced by my right hon. friend the Home Secretary to the House of Commons on 23 February 2004, Official Report, columns 23–25, in which he outlined the regulations the Government will be bringing forward to ensure that income related benefits, housing support and child benefit are not abused.
	Accession state nationals who want to work in the UK will be required to register as a worker once they have found a job. This will allow the Government to very closely monitor the numbers of people coming to work in the UK.
	In the unexpected event of a large influx of workers to the UK, which threatened the level of employment or standard of living in a particular region or occupation we would impose restrictions on workers.

EU Accession States

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions have taken place between his Department and its counterparts in the new EU accession states regarding the security of peripheral EU borders.

Beverley Hughes: Home Office Ministers and officials have discussed the security of periphery EU borders with accession state counterparts on many occasions over the past 12 months (and longer), both bilaterally and within the EU framework. These discussions will continue during the lead up to formal accession in May and beyond.
	Examples of these discussions include the recent bilateral meetings between my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint) and Polish and Hungarian counterparts; a joint UK-Finnish border management conference attended by all 13 accession and candidate countries; bilateral technical co-operation meetings with Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Malta, Poland and Slovenia; a UK-hosted seminar on justice and home affairs issues attended by all accession states; and UK participation in border control projects in Malta and Poland.

Foreign Nationals

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals entered the UK in each year since 1997.

Beverley Hughes: The latest available information is given in the table.
	
		Passengers given leave to enter the United Kingdom, excluding EEA nationals: 1997–2002
		
			  Number of journeys(13) (million) 
		
		
			 1997 10.9 
			 1998 11.5 
			 1999 12.0 
			 2000(14) 13.0 
			 2001(14) 12.8 
			 2002 12.6 
		
	
	(13) Includes people granted leave to enter the UK in the year shown but who may have been temporarily admitted in previous years.
	(14) A change in procedures may have resulted in some under-recording for the fourth quarter of 2000 and the first quarter of 2001.
	Data on passengers given leave to enter the United Kingdom are published in the Command Paper "Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 2002" (Cm6053), obtainable from the House Library, the Stationery Office and via the Home Office website http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/hobpubs1.html.

Anti-Social Behaviour Orders

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Anti-Social Behaviour Orders have been issued, broken down by (a) region of offender and (b) age of offender since their inception; and how many of these offenders have since been sentenced to custody.

Hazel Blears: Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) were introduced from 1 April 1999 on application to the magistrates court acting in its civil capacity. The Police Reform Act (2002) authorised the magistrates courts and the Crown court to issue ASBOs on conviction, and the county courts (from 1 April 2003), to issue ASBOs on application. Data are given in table A of numbers of ASBOs issued, at all courts, as reported to the Home Office, by court type, area and age, up to 30 September 2003 (latest available).
	In table B data are given, by age group and area, from 1 June 2000 up to 31 December 2002 (latest available) on breaches of ASBOs resulting in a custodial sentence.
	
		Table A: Number of anti-social behaviour orders issued at all courts, as reported to the Home Office, from 1April 1999 to 30September 2003, by court type, age and area: England and Wales
		
			 Age 
			 MCC/Police force area Total issued 10–17 18 and over Unknown(15) 
		
		
			 Magistrates Court 
			 Avon and Somerset 45 15 19 11 
			 Bedfordshire 16 5 10 1 
			 Cambridgeshire 22 13 4 5 
			 Cheshire 33 14 19 — 
			 Cleveland 23 18 4 1 
			 Cumbria 28 10 17 1 
			 Derbyshire 21 6 12 3 
			 Devon and Cornwall 18 7 10 1 
			 Dorset 5 5 — — 
			 Durham 28 15 13 — 
			 Essex 4 3 1 — 
			 Gloucestershire 9 6 3 — 
			 GLMCA/Metropolitan Police(16) 113 37 56 20 
			 Greater Manchester 240 161 66 13 
			 Hampshire 37 20 16 1 
			 Hertfordshire 26 16 8 2 
			 Humberside 19 6 11 2 
			 Kent 42 25 17 — 
			 Lancashire 56 39 11 6 
			 Leicestershire 7 5 1 1 
			 Lincolnshire 7 4 3 — 
			 Merseyside 66 37 21 8 
			 Norfolk 30 11 7 12 
			 Northamptonshire 9 8 1 — 
			 Northumbria 53 22 23 8 
			 North Yorkshire 13 6 3 4 
			 Nottinghamshire 26 11 14 1 
			 South Yorkshire 44 19 22 3 
			 Staffordshire 38 20 17 1 
			 Suffolk 27 14 10 3 
			 Surrey 10 6 3 1 
			 Sussex 39 23 12 4 
			 Thames Valley 21 7 8 6 
			 Warwickshire 25 16 9 — 
			 West Mercia 100 45 50 5 
			 West Midlands 154 54 74 26 
			 West Yorkshire 82 55 23 4 
			 Wiltshire 3 2 1 — 
			 England 1,539 786 599 154 
			  
			 Dyfed Powys 11 — 11 — 
			 Gwent 8 5 3 — 
			 North Wales 15 10 5 — 
			 South Wales 25 12 13 — 
			 Wales 59 27 32 0 
			 England and Wales MCC/ PFA 1,598 813 631 154 
			  
			 County Court Group 
			 County Court 
			 London 1 — 1 — 
			 Merseyside 1 — 1 — 
			 England and Wales County Court Group 2 — 2 — 
			 Crown Court Circuit 
			 Crown Court 
			 Midland 4 2 2 — 
			 Northern 5 1 4 — 
			 North Eastern 3 — 3 — 
			 South Eastern 1 — 1 — 
			 South Eastern Provincial 2 — 2 — 
			 Western 7 2 5 — 
			 Wales and Chester 1 — 1 — 
			 England and Wales CC Circuits 23 5 18 — 
			  
			 Total all courts England and Wales 1,623 818 651 154 
		
	
	(15) From 1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000 data collected by police force area on numbers issued only.
	(16) Including City of London.
	
		Table B: Number of breaches(17) of an anti-social behaviour order reported to the Home office from 1June 2000 to 31December 2002—England and Wales
		
			  ASBOs issued ASBOs breached 
			  Age Age 
			 MCC/Police force area Total 10–17 18 and over Unknown Total 10–17 18 and over Unknown 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 25 10 13 2 7 4 (18)3 — 
			 Bedfordshire 8 2 5 1 6 3 3 — 
			 Cambridgeshire 5 3 2 — 2 2 — — 
			 Cheshire 16 8 8 — 7 5 2 — 
			 Cleveland 13 12 1 — 7 6 1 — 
			 Cumbria 15 4 10 1 2 — 2 — 
			 Derbyshire 15 5 10 — 9 3 6 — 
			 Devon and Cornwall 11 5 6 — 4 1 3 — 
			 Dorset 4 4 — — 1 1 — — 
			 Durham 21 12 9 — 16 9 7 — 
			 Essex 2 2 — — 1 1 — — 
			 Gloucestershire 5 3 2 — 1 1 — — 
			 GLMCA/Metropolitan Police(19) 51 23 18 10 17 8 (18)9 — 
			 Greater Manchester 104 73 28 3 30 24 (18)6 — 
			 Hampshire 15 10 5 — 3 3 — — 
			 Hertfordshire 16 10 5 1 5 1 (18)4 — 
			 Humberside 16 6 8 2 5 4 1 — 
			 Kent 36 21 15 — 3 3 — — 
			 Lancashire 23 17 6 — 10 5 5 — 
			 Leicestershire 5 4 1 — 3 3 — — 
			 Lincolnshire 3 2 1 — 1 — (18)1 — 
			 Merseyside 32 23 9 — 6 3 3 — 
			 Norfolk 19 7 6 6 8 3 (18)5 — 
			 Northamptonshire 9 8 1 — 1 — 1 — 
			 Northumbria 30 17 13 — 11 4 (18)7 — 
			 North Yorkshire 7 4 3 — 6 2 (18)4 — 
			 Nottinghamshire 16 5 11 — 8 2 6 — 
			 South Yorkshire 24 13 11 — 8 5 (18)3 — 
			 Staffordshire 22 10 11 1 6 2 4 — 
			 Suffolk 9 8 1 — 1 1 — — 
			 Surrey 6 4 1 1 3 — (18)3 — 
			 Sussex 23 15 7 1 5 4 1 — 
			 Thames Valley 14 4 5 5 2 — 2 — 
			 Warwickshire 18 12 6 — 8 4 4 — 
			 West Mercia 75 34 41 — 25 12 (18)13 — 
			 West Midlands 93 42 36 15 42 25 17 — 
			 West Yorkshire 29 21 8 — 13 9 4 — 
			 Wiltshire 1 1 — — 1 1 — — 
			 England 836 464 323 49 294 164 130 — 
			  
			 Dyfed Powys — — — — — — — — 
			 Gwent 4 4 — — 3 3 — — 
			 North Wales 8 5 3 — 5 2 3 — 
			 South Wales 7 1 6 — 3 1 2 — 
			 Wales 19 10 9 0 11 6 5 — 
			  
			 Total England and Wales 855 474 332 49 305 170 135 — 
		
	
	
		
			   Custodial sentence given(20) 
			Age 
			 MCC/Police force area Total 10–17 18 and over Unknown 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 4 1 (18)3 — 
			 Bedfordshire 2 — 2 — 
			 Cambridgeshire 1 1 — — 
			 Cheshire 5 4 1 — 
			 Cleveland 1 — 1 — 
			 Cumbria 2 — 2 — 
			 Derbyshire 4 2 2 — 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2 1 1 — 
			 Dorset — — — — 
			 Durham 10 3 (18)7 — 
			 Essex 1 1 — — 
			 Gloucestershire 1 1 — — 
			 GLMCA/Metropolitan Police(19) 11 3 (18)8 — 
			 Greater Manchester 21 16 (18)5 — 
			 Hampshire 1 1 — — 
			 Hertfordshire 2  2 — 
			 Humberside 2 2 — — 
			 Kent — — — — 
			 Lancashire 5 2 3 — 
			 Leicestershire 1 1 — — 
			 Lincolnshire — — — — 
			 Merseyside 6 3 3 — 
			 Norfolk 1 — 1 — 
			 Northamptonshire 1 — 1 — 
			 Northumbria 3 — 3 — 
			 North Yorkshire 1 1 — — 
			 Nottinghamshire 4 1 3 — 
			 South Yorkshire 3 3 — — 
			 Staffordshire 4 1 3 — 
			 Suffolk — — — — 
			 Surrey 1 — (18)1 — 
			 Sussex 1 — 1 — 
			 Thames Valley — — — — 
			 Warwickshire 1 — 1 — 
			 West Mercia 16 6 10 — 
			 West Midlands 25 12 13 — 
			 West Yorkshire 6 3 (18)3 — 
			 Wiltshire — — — — 
			 England 149 69 80 0 
			  
			 Dyfed Powys 0 — — — 
			 Gwent 1 1 — — 
			 North Wales 1 1 — — 
			 South Wales 1 — 1 — 
			 Wales 3 2 1 0 
			  
			 Total England and Wales 152 71 81 0 
		
	
	(17) Breaches are counted in this table on a persons basis, i.e. multiple breaches (occurring at the same time), or where the order has been breached on more than one occasion, are all counted as one breach.
	(18) Includes breaches where the ASBO recipient was a juvenile when the order was given.
	(19) Including City of London.
	(20) Excluding two persons given a fully suspended sentence and five cases where a sentence of one day in police cells was given.

Anti-Social Behaviour Orders

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the use of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders as a means of fighting prostitution.

Caroline Flint: Anti-Social Behaviour Orders have been used in several parts of England and Wales to tackle the anti-social behaviour resulting from prostitution. They are only one of the tools available to tackle anti-social behaviour, and anecdotal evidence suggests that they are more effective in dealing with the anti-social effects of prostitution when used together with support to help sex workers exit prostitution. Work is currently under way to scope the issues around prostitution and this will consider the effectiveness of all means of dealing with prostitution.

Anti-Social Behaviour Orders

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of those applying for Anti-Social Behaviour Orders in the past year have been registered social landlords.

Hazel Blears: The Police Reform Act (December 2002) empowered registered social landlords to apply for Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) directly. Data are collected on the type of applicant only on those orders issued in the magistrates court, acting in its civil capacity, and within the county courts. Orders can also be made following conviction of an offence in the criminal courts—there is no applicant for these orders.
	From 1 December 2002 up to 30 September 2003 (latest available), 13 of the 715 applications for ASBOs, as reported to the Home Office, have been made by registered social landlords. All were issued.

Anti-Social Behaviour Orders

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Anti-Social Behaviour Orders have been issued to those under the age of 18 in the past year.

Hazel Blears: Information is given in the following table.
	
		Number of anti-social behaviour orders issued, at all courts, by age and period, as reported to the Home Office, from 1January 2002 to 30September 2003 (latest available) England and Wales
		
			 Age 1 January 2002 to 30 November 2002 1 December 2002(21) to 30 September 2003 
		
		
			 10–17 205 371 
			 18 and over 130 334 
			 Unknown 23 1 
			 Total 358 706 
		
	
	(21) Following introduction of the Police Reform Act (December 2002) data for December 2002 have been included in the first quarter 2003.

Anti-Social Behaviour Orders

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been prosecuted for breach of an Anti-Social Behaviour Order in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Hazel Blears: The available information relating to breaches of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs), within England and Wales, covers the period 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2002. Of the total number of 329 persons prosecuted for breach of an ASBO during this period, 305 persons were found guilty.

Anti-Social Behaviour Orders

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Anti-Social Behaviour Orders have been issued by (a) Merseyside Police and (b) local authorities in Merseyside in each of the last five years.

Hazel Blears: Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) were introduced from 1 April 1999 on application, by the Police or Local Authority, to the magistrates' court acting in its civil capacity. The Police Reform Act (2002) authorised the magistrates' courts and the Crown Court to issue ASBOs on conviction, and the county courts (from 1 April 2003), to issue ASBOs on application. Data are given in the table of numbers of ASBOs issued, at all courts, within Merseyside, up to 30 September 2003 (latest available).
	Data are collected on the type of applicant on those orders only issued in the magistrates court, acting in its civil capacity, and within the county courts. Orders can also be made following conviction of an offence in the criminal courts—there is no applicant for these orders. Where applicable, data on the type of applicant are given in the table.
	
		Number of ASBOs, issued within Merseyside, at all courts, by period and applicant, 1April 1999 to 30September 2003
		
			  Applications by Issued where the applicant was 
			 Period Police Local authority County courts Total Police Local authority County courts Total Issued on conviction 
		
		
			 1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000(22) (23)— (23)— (24)— 12 (23)— (23)— (24)— 8 (24)— 
			 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2000 2 1 (24)— 3 2 1 (24)— 3 (24)— 
			 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2001 0 7 (24)— 7 0 7 (24)— 7 (24)— 
			 1 January 2002 to 30 November 2002 0 22 (24)— 22 0 22 (24)— 22 (24)— 
			 1 December 2002 to 30 September 2003 4 23 (24)— 27 4 22 1 27 0 
			 Total 4 53 (23)— 71 6 52 1 67 0 
		
	
	(22) From 1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000 data was collected by police force area only on numbers issued or refused.
	(23) Not available.
	(24) Not applicable.

Asylum and Immigration

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of provision for (a) the processing of asylum applications and (b) the housing of asylum seekers in Northern Ireland.

Beverley Hughes: The UK Immigration Service has staff based at Belfast International Airport part of whose responsibility is to screen new asylum applicants encountered in Northern Ireland.
	After screening, new applicants are normally interviewed by staff from the Immigration and Nationality Directorate's Asylum Casework Group to determine whether they have a valid claim, as is the procedure elsewhere in the UK.
	The number of asylum applications received in Northern Ireland is relatively low and I am confident that the numbers of staff and facilities available for this work is commensurate with the current level of demand.
	The Northern Ireland Housing Executive has responsibility for housing those asylum seekers who are supported by the National Asylum Support Service. These asylum seekers are referred to the Housing Executive by the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities. The National Asylum Support Service does not disperse asylum seekers to Northern Ireland and the numbers supported there are low. Accommodation is provided to acceptable standards and is subject to housing inspections.

Asylum and Immigration

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many travellers were subject to immigration control at (a) Heathrow and (b) all other UK ports in each of the last five years for which there are records; and of these, what proportion were referred to medical inspectors (i) at Heathrow and (ii) at other ports.

Beverley Hughes: The figures for travellers subject to immigration control and who were granted leave to enter at (a) Heathrow and (b) all other UK ports in each of the last five years are as follows.
	
		Passengers given leave to enter the United Kingdom, excluding European Economic area (EEA) nationals, 1998 to 2002(25): United Kingdom -- Number of journeys (million)
		
			  Heathrow Other ports Total 
		
		
			 1998 6.7 4.8 11.5 
			 1999 6.8 5.2 12.0 
			 2000 7.4 5.6 13.0 
			 2001 7.4 5.4 12.8 
			 2002(25) 7.7 4.9 12.6 
		
	
	(25) Provisional.
	Notes:
	1. The data are of the number of journeys made; a person who makes more than one journey is counted on each occasion.
	2. Long-standing policy is that any person subject to immigration control who:
	(i) mentions health or medical treatment as a reason for coming to the United Kingdom, or appears unwell; or
	(ii) is seeking leave to enter the United Kingdom for six months or more and is at high risk of having been exposed to tuberculosis should be referred by the immigration officer to a medical inspector.
	The Department of Health does not collect data on the number of referrals for medical inspection. Data supplied by Heathrow and Gatwick health control units indicates the following number of referrals over the previous five years:
	
		
			  Heathrow Gatwick 
		
		
			 1998–99 72,079 Not known 
			 1999–2000 88,079 7,705 
			 2000–01 108,170 5,845 
			 2001–02 148,619 6,960 
			 2002–03 164,655 3,745 
		
	
	Since these figures relate to financial years and those for travellers calendar years it is not possible to determine the actual proportion of travellers who were referred to the medical inspector.

Asylum and Immigration

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether an on site nurse forms part of the service contracted by the National Asylum Support Service from Angel Heights, Newcastle; and whether this contract provides for female support workers as a result of a recent change in clients;
	(2)  what payments his Department has made to NHS agencies and services in Newcastle in this financial year in respect of asylum seeker dispersal support.

Beverley Hughes: The Home Office is not responsible for providing funding to NHS agencies to meet the costs of providing medical treatment to asylum seekers who have been dispersed. The National Asylum Support System does not provide on site nurses in any of its dispersal accommodation.

Asylum and Immigration

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful asylum applications there have been from Ethiopian citizens in the last five years; and how many of the unsuccessful applicants have been deported.

Beverley Hughes: The table shows the number of asylum applications and initial decisions for nationals of Ethiopia (excluding dependants) in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. Initial decisions do not necessarily relate to applications received in the same period.
	
		Applications received for asylum in the United Kingdom, excluding dependants, and initial decisions(26) , (27) , (28), by year, nationals of Ethiopia -- Principal applicants
		
			  1999 2000 2001(29) 2002(30) 2003(30) 
		
		
			 Applications received 455 415 610 700 640 
			   
			 Initial decisions 
			 Total initial decisions 260 895 1,175 705 740 
			
			  Cases considered under normal procedures 
			 Grants of asylum 20 40 90 50 15 
			 Grants of ELR 5 80 240 170 40 
			 Grants of HP n/a n/a n/a n/a — 
			 Grants of DL n/a n/a n/a n/a 95 
			 Total refusals 35 355 845 485 590 
			 
			 Backlog clearance exercise
			 Grants of ELR under backlog criteria(31) , (32) 190 390 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Non compliance refusals under backlog criteria(31) , (33) 10 30 n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	n/a = not applicable.
	(26) Figures rounded to the nearest five.
	(27) Decision figures do not necessarily relate to applications received in the same period.
	(28) Information is of initial determination decisions, excluding the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions.
	(29) Revised figures.
	(30) Provisional figures.
	(31) Cases decided under pragmatic measures aimed at reducing the pre 1996 asylum backlog.
	(32) May include a small number of cases where asylum has been granted.
	(33) May include a small number of cases where the application has been refused on substantive grounds.
	The table shows the available data, for outcomes of adjudicator appeals at the Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA) for nationals of Ethiopia in 2001, 2002 and 2003. Appeals may relate to initial decisions made in earlier periods. Corresponding information on appeals to the Immigration Appellate Tribunal (IAT) relating to Ethiopian nationals (including appeals made by the Secretary of State) is not available and could be produced only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case files. Data on the nationality of appeals made in 1999 and 2000 are not available.
	
		Outcome of appeals(34) , (35) determined by adjudicators of the Immigration Appellate Authority, excluding dependants, nationals of Ethiopia, 2001 to 2003
		
			  Number of principal appellants 
			 Appeals determined by adjudicators 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Total determined 265 615 1,060 
			 
			 Allowed
			 Total 110 230 325 
			 As percentage of determined 42 37 31 
			 
			 Dismissed
			 Total 140 340 685 
			 As percentage of determined 53 55 65 
			 
			 Withdrawn
			 Total 15 50 50 
			 As percentage of determined 6 8 5 
		
	
	(34) Provisional figures rounded to nearest 5 (except percentages). Figures may not add up due to independent rounding. Data on appeal outcomes by nationality in this table are derived from Immigration and Nationality Directorate electronic sources.
	(35) Figures include cases withdrawn by the Home Office, as well as the appellant.
	Deportations are a specific subset of removals alongside persons subject to administrative removal, removal due to illegal entry action or those refused entry at port and subsequently removed.
	Estimates of the number of nationals of Ethiopia who had sought asylum at some stage and who were removed from the UK between January 2001 and September 2003 (the latest date for which figures are available) are shown in the table. These figures include persons departing 'voluntarily' after the initiation of enforcement action against them, and persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Returns Programmes run by the International Organization for Migration. Removals do not necessarily relate to initial decisions made in the same period. Data on the nationality of removals made in 1999 and 2000 are not available.
	
		Removals and voluntary(36) departures of principal asylum applicants (excluding dependants), nationals of Ethiopia(37) , (38) , (39)
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2001 10 
			 2002 10 
			 January to September 2003 * 
		
	
	(36) Includes persons departing "voluntarily" after enforcement action had been initiated against them, persons leaving under Assisted voluntary return programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration, and removals on safe third country grounds.
	(37) Figures rounded to the nearest five, with "*" = 1or 2.
	(38) Data have been estimated due to data quality issues.
	(39) Provisional figures
	Information on asylum applications, initial decisions, appeals and removals are published quarterly. The current publication covering the fourth quarter of 2003, and provisional 2003 data, is available on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html. Data on the nationality of removals are published a quarter in arrears. Data for the final quarter of 2003 will be published at the end of May.

Cannabis

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in Greater London have been (a) fined and (b) given a prison sentence for (i) supplying, (ii) trafficking and (iii) possession of cannabis in each of the last five years.

Caroline Flint: The available information is contained in the table.
	
		Persons(40) fined and sentenced to immediate custody(41)for cannabis related offences in Greater London(42)
		
			 Greater London, 1998 to 2002 1998 1999 2000 
			 Offence Persons fined Persons sentencedto immediate custody Persons fined Persons sentencedto immediate custody Persons fined 
		
		
			 Supplying or offering to supply (or being concerned in supplying or offering to supply) cannabis 24 66 10 65 6 
			 Possession of cannabis with intent to supply 42 230 31 192 15 
			 Production of or being concerned in the production of cannabis 75 19 43 23 30 
			 Possession of cannabis 4,044 71 3,804 61 3,487 
		
	
	
		
			   2001  2002 
			 Offence Persons fined Persons sentenced to immediate custody Persons fined Persons sentenced to immediate custody 
		
		
			 Supplying or offering to supply (or being concerned in supplying or offering to supply) cannabis 9 36 9 44 
			 Possession of cannabis with intent to supply 22 106 35 105 
			 Production of or being concerned in the production of cannabis 27 22 34 12 
			 Possession of cannabis 3,238 43 4,120 45 
		
	
	(40) These data are on the principal offence basis.
	(41) Includes unsuspended imprisonment, secure training orders, detention in a young offender institution and detention and training orders.
	(42) Includes Metropolitan and City of London police forces.
	Statistics for 2003 will be published in the autumn.

Connexions Service

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which staff organisations and trade unions were consulted by Patrick Carter during his inquiry into the Connexions services.

Paul Goggins: Patrick Carter's report "Managing Offenders-Reducing Crime" was an independent review of the correctional services. The Government's response "Reducing Crime-Changing Lives" seeks views from stakeholders on a number of issues relating to the management of offenders.

Convicted Defendants

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convicted defendants there were in the last three years, broken down by ethnic origin; what proportion of convicted defendants were sent to prison, broken down by ethnic origin; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: Information on the ethnic origin of convicted defendants is only currently available for magistrates courts in six pilot areas. This information was included in "Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System 2002" and in earlier years, available on the Home Office website: http://www.homeoffice. gov.uk/rds/pdfs/s95race2002.pdf.

Coroners' Inquiries

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time taken is to arrange a coroner's inquiry into a death.

Paul Goggins: In 2002, the average time taken to process an inquest, from the time the death was reported to the coroner, until the time the inquest was concluded, was four months. The average time taken for the coroner to issue a certificate permitting a body to be released for burial or other disposal, in cases where an inquest was subsequently held, was seven days.

Crime Reduction Policy

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress made towards local crime reduction targets in each area participating in the Small Retailers in Deprived Areas scheme.

Hazel Blears: In June 2001, the Home Secretary announced funding of £15 million over three years for a project to improve the security of small retailers in the 10 most deprived areas throughout England and Wales.
	Individual projects are developed by local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in conjunction with Regional Home Office Directors. Part of this process is to ensure adequate local targets have been set, and systems put in place to measure performance against them.
	A detailed evaluation of the scheme is currently under way and will be completed in the autumn. The findings, which will be widely disseminated, will identify effective interventions that have been shown to have a beneficial impact on crime against small retailers. The evaluation will also examine other ways in which the scheme has impacted upon businesses and the surrounding retail environment—such as the fear of crime among business, fear of crime among customers, business viability and partnership working.

Criminal Prosecutions (Lancashire)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful criminal prosecutions were brought for crimes perpetrated in each Lancashire constituency in each of the last three years;
	(2)  how many criminal charges were pressed for crimes perpetrated in Chorley in each of the last three years.

Paul Goggins: Statistics on those charged with offences are not collected centrally, nor is it possible to break down the court proceedings data collected centrally to constituency level.
	The following table, however, gives the numbers of defendants (a) convicted and (b) not convicted in the Lancashire Police Force area as a whole:
	
		Defendants convicted and those not convicted of offences of all types at all courts in the Lancashire police force area, 2000–02
		
			  Defendants convicted Defendants not convicted(43) 
		
		
			 2000 49,625 19,729 
			 2001 48,077 19,441 
			 2002 48,259 19,781 
		
	
	(43) Includes defendants whose proceedings were discontinued, those discharged under Sec 6 MCA 1980, and those whose charges were withdrawn, dismissed or acquitted.
	Statistics for 2003 will be published in the autumn.

Cyclists (Prosecution)

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cyclists were prosecuted for failure to comply with legal requirements in respect of road use in the UK in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: The number of defendants proceeded against for pedal cycle offences in England and Wales 1998 to 2002 is as follows:
	
		Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for all pedal cycle offences(44), England and Wales 1998 to 2002
		
			  Proceeded against 
		
		
			 1998 2,380 
			 1999 1,487 
			 2000 1,023 
			 2001 760 
			 2002 636 
		
	
	(44) These data are on the principal offence basis.
	Statistics on court proceedings for 2003 will be published in the autumn.Information for Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Office and that for Northern Ireland for the Northern Ireland Office.

Disorder Penalty Notices

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many penalty notices for disorder have been issued by police forces during the pilot period.

Hazel Blears: Pilots for penalty notices for disorder operated between August 2002 and September 2003 in four police force areas involving five police forces: West Midlands (force wide), Essex (force wide), North Wales (initially in their Central division then force wide from April 2003), Metropolitan (Croydon division) and British Transport Police (West Midlands area). Just over 6,000 penalty notices for disorder were issued during the pilots.

DNA Investigation Techniques

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when DNA low copy number first became available as a product for use in assisting the investigation of cold calls; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 9 March 2004
	A DNA low copy number product first became available for investigation of both cold and current cases in January 1999.

Driving Convictions

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions for (a) causing death by dangerous driving, (b) dangerous driving and (c) careless driving there were in (i) Greater London and (ii) each London borough in each of the last five years.

Caroline Flint: Available information for the years 1997 to 2001 is given in the table. It is not possible from the data collected centrally to identify each London Borough within the geographical area of Greater London.
	2002 data will be available in the Spring.
	
		Findings of guilt at all courts for specific offences, Greater London police(45), 1997–2001
		
			 Offence 1997 1998 1999 2000 
		
		
			 Causing death by dangerous driving(47) 16 24 22 23 
			 Dangerous driving(48) 484 419 384 444 
			 Careless driving(49) 10,067 9,203 8,172 6,168 
		
	
	(45) Figures amended since publication of the Home Office 'Offences relating to motor vehicles England and Wales 2001 Supplementary tables'.
	(46) Offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988, s1 as amended by the Road Traffic Act 1991 s1 and Criminal Justice Act 1993 s67.
	(47) Offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s2 as amended by the Road Traffic Act 1991 s2.
	(48) Offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s3, ss 12(1), 26(2), 33(3) and 168; Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 Regs 19,104–107 and 109.

European Monitoring Centre onRacism and Xenophobia

Denzil Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who the Chairperson and members of the Executive Board of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia are.

Fiona Mactaggart: Under the Executive Board of the European Monitoring Centre (EUMC) governing regulation, its Executive Board is composed of the Chairman of the EUMC Management Board, the Vice-Chairman and up to three other members of the Management Board, including the person appointed by the Council of Europe and the representative of the European Commission.
	The members of the current Executive Board are Robert Purkiss (Chairman), Petros Stangos (Vice-Chairman), Helene Loow, Joseph Voyame (Council of Europe) and Bernhard Jansen (European Commission).
	We understand that a new Executive Board will be elected by the Management Board at its meeting in June.

Forensic Science Service

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the oral answer of 19 January 2004, Official Report, column 1073, on the Forensic Science Service, whether the £20 million to £30 million sum mentioned is (a) a one off capital cost and (b) a recurring annual revenue cost.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 9 March 2004
	The £20 million to £30 million is an estimate provided by the independent McFarland Review and refers to the one-off capital investment considered necessary to sustain Forensic Science Service business at current levels.

Grants

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what grants that fall outside the revenue support grant were awarded by his Department to local authorities in (a) Lancashire and (b) Chorley in each of the last three financial years.

Hazel Blears: The information available is set out in the following table.
	
		£ million
		
			 Lancashire police authority 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Home Office Principal Formula grant 96.9 97.4 105.2 
			 Crime Fighting Fund 1.1 3.3 5.4 
			 Rural Policing Fund 0.06 0.06 0.06 
			 Airwave 7.2 0.5 0.5 
			 BCU funding — — 1.2 
			 Community Support Officers — 0.5 0.3 
			 Street Crime Initiative — 0.8 0.4 
			 Special Priority Payments — — 0.6 
			 DNA Expansion Programme — 1.9 1.5 
			 Capital grant 3.7 2.5 2.3 
			 Premises Improvement Fund — 0.5 0.5 
			 Arrest Referral—Lancashire Police — 0.3 0.5 
			 Criminal Justice Interventions Programme (CJIP)—Drug Testing — 0.3 0.2 
			 
			 Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships(49) 8.3 5.0 3.2 
			 Of which:
			 Funding for Chorley 0.2 0.2 0.2 
			 
			 Total 117.26 113.06 121.86 
		
	
	(49) Includes Building Safer Communities Fund, Partnership Development Fund, Communities Against Drugs and Safer Communities Initiative, Funding for CCTV, Violence against women (VAW), Neighbourhood Wardens, Street Wardens and Small Retailers in Deprived Areas and the Reducing Burglary Initiative.

Gender Dysphoria

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department will publish guidelines on the treatment of prisoners with gender dysphoria.

Paul Goggins: The Prison Service expects to publish these guidelines once the Gender Recognition Bill has become law and it is in a position to include guidance on the implications of this legislation for its policies and practices.

Identity Cards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further consultation is planned with the public regarding identity cards.

Beverley Hughes: Since the six month consultation period on entitlement cards and identity fraud officially ended on 31 January 2003, consultation with the public has been ongoing via the despatch of the Next Steps publication to all those who responded to the consultation exercise, the identity cards website, and the recording of all public correspondence received.
	A covering consultation paper will accompany the draft Bill on identity cards, which was announced in the Queen's speech. The paper will enable further consultation with the public as well as specific stakeholder groups on the detail of the Bill. This will be in addition to any pre-legislative scrutiny by Parliament.
	During this period, there will also be opportunity to consult on the wider issues around how a scheme may work in practice. A communications strategy will be developed to ensure engagement with the public.

Identity Cards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the work of the Identity Cards Programme Board.

Beverley Hughes: As indicated in "Identity Cards: The Next Steps" (Cm 6020), the Identity Cards Programme Board has been established by the Home Office to co-ordinate and drive forward the different elements of the Government strategy. The board is chaired by the Permanent Secretary of the Home Office. Progress at every stage will be monitored and reviewed as further decisions are taken during the implementation. Before decisions are taken on implementation, there will be an intensive phase of feasibility assessment and prototyping so that decision making is soundly based and risks in the programme are kept to a minimum.

Identity Cards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the nature of the proposed national identity database; and what plans he has to use 2D barcodes to store the biometric template on identity cards.

Beverley Hughes: Data held on the National Identity Register will be basic identity information—such as name, address, date of birth, gender, immigration status and a confirmed biometric—and this will be set out in statute. Organisations using the National Register to verify identity will not be able to get to other personal information, for instance health or tax records, via the register.
	At present there is no firm decision on the technology which will be used on the card. Technologies will be evaluated in how well they meet our requirements, in particularly in the areas of security, capacity and adherence to international standards.

Identity Cards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the work of the UK Passport Agency pilot scheme, including his assessment of the (a) popularity and (b) effectiveness of different forms of biometric identifiers.

Beverley Hughes: The UK Passport Service (UKPS) is running a six-month trial beginning in March 2004 to test the recording and verification of facial recognition, iris and fingerprint biometrics. Approximately 10,000 participants will take part in the trial. Results from the trial will help inform the Government's plans to introduce biometrics to support improved identity authentication and help prevent identity fraud.
	The objectives of the UKPS biometrics trial include the following:
	to test the use of biometrics through a simulation of the passport process
	to include exception cases, e.g. people who may have difficulties in enrolment
	to measure the process time and hence estimate costs
	to assess customer perceptions and reactions
	to assess practical aspects of incorporation of biometrics into a biometric database
	to identify issues and risks and produce an outline implementation plan.
	In relation to the popularity and effectiveness of biometrics in the context of the UKPS's trial, the work is largely based around recommendations from a report in August 2002 by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) entitled: "Feasibility Study on Use of Biometrics in an Entitlement Scheme", and which is available on the Home Office Identity Cards website at www. homeoffice.gov.uk/comrace/identitycards.
	UKPS already plans to introduce a passport with a facial image held in a chip from mid 2005. The NPL report was commissioned by UKPS and DVLA to examine the feasibility of using additional biometrics as a means of establishing a unique identity, to support better identity authentication alongside work on the proposed entitlement (now identity card) scheme.
	The report discusses the most significant component of the cost of such a scheme as being the time and effort to enrol individuals and collect their biometric data, (especially the impact of exception cases on throughput performance), and that this is one of the least well-understood aspects of biometric technologies. The report recommended further studies in this area.
	It is this recommendation which lies behind the objectives of the current trials being conducted by UKPS.
	In addition, and as published in "Identity Cards: A summary of findings from the Consultation Exercise on Entitlement Cards and Identity Fraud", UKPS carried out evaluation questionnaires during the demonstrations of iris and fingerprint biometrics in 2002–03. While not fully representative, the sample illustrated a positive attitude towards biometrics. For example, over 85 per cent. wanted to take the opportunity to establish their identity more securely using either fingerprint or iris biometrics, as long as the technology was secure.

Identity Cards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what measures he proposes to deter access to a national identity database for improper reasons;
	(2)  how the national identity database will be monitored to detect a potential compromise of its security;
	(3)  if he will outline the risk management system proposed for the security of the identity card scheme;
	(4)  what measures will be in place under the current identity card proposals to ensure that the identity database is not vulnerable to hackers.

Beverley Hughes: The security and integrity of the database are integral to maintaining trust in the Identity Cards scheme. The specifications and design of the database and its security features have not yet been established but will take into account security advice from the earliest stages and the design process will include threat and vulnerability assessments. Threats which will be assessed will include unauthorised internal and external access to data.
	Home Office officials are already working with security experts to ensure that security issues are considered from the start of the database design, and with other government departments which have similar databases with similar security needs, such as the United Kingdom Passport Service.
	The Identity Cards Programme takes risk management extremely seriously and has developed its approach to risk management in line with Home Office best practice. The Programme Board and Ministers are considering the Governance arrangements for the ID Cards scheme and will consider what the risk management system should be in order to ensure the security of the Identity Card scheme.

Identity Cards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on whether some categories of individuals have a higher failure rate with certain biometric identifiers; and what measures he plans to overcome this problem.

Beverley Hughes: In his announcement on 11 November 2003, my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary stated that the Government have decided to begin the process of introducing a national identity cards scheme.
	The first stage of the process will include work across Government to develop effective technology, particularly on biometrics, and to introduce systems to ensure that biometric data can be collected, stored and used effectively. This includes a biometric pilot which is being run by the United Kingdom Passport Service (UKPS) to test the recording of face, iris and fingerprint biometric information.
	One of the specific objectives of the UKPS pilot is to test biometric enrolment on a sample of people who may have difficulties with enrolment. Data gained from this pilot will inform the design of the Identity Card scheme's enrolment processes and procedures for enrolling those unable to provide certain biometrics.

Identity Cards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is possible to combine data from the national identity database with other databases or information systems under the current identity card proposals.

Beverley Hughes: As set out in "Identity Cards: The Next Steps" (Cm 6020), the National Identity Register will be built from scratch as people are issued with identity cards and will not rely solely on other sources of data. Before an entry on the National Identity Register is confirmed, it will be checked against other databases such as passports, driving licences and immigration records.
	Organisations using the National Identity Register to verify identity will not be able to get to other personal information, for instance health or tax records via the Register.

Identity Cards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what action his Department is taking to prevent functionality creep in relation to identity cards;
	(2)  what study he has undertaken, in relation to his policy on identity cards, of the use by the US Administration of social security numbers;
	(3)  when a complete specification of requirements of the identity cards database will be available; and to what analysis this specification will be subject.

Beverley Hughes: The Government are aware of concerns about function creep. Our scheme will include safeguards to ensure that there is no extension of functions without proper justification and authorisation. Neither the statutory purposes of the scheme nor the range of information held on the National Identity Register could be extended without Parliament's authorisation.
	During the development of the identity cards proposals officials looked at policy and practice in many different countries. The problems in relation to the US Social Security Number were highlighted in the Cabinet Office Identity Fraud Study which was published at the start of our consultation period. This was one of the factors which has led to the government's conclusion set out in "Identity Cards: The Next Steps" that the National Identity Register needs to be established from scratch and that checks on an identity need to be more stringent than those currently in place for passports and driving licences.
	The specification of requirements for the database will be drawn up as part of the procurement process. The process will be subject to evaluation to assess how well our requirements are met, particularly in the areas of security, capacity and adherence to international standards. The timing of the procurement process is dependent on the legislative timetable.

Identity Cards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the ease with which encryption methods for identity cards can be upgraded.

Beverley Hughes: There are ongoing maintenance procedures which are a requirement of any encryption scheme. These include but are not limited to key issuing, certificate issuing, certificate revocation and technology upgrade.
	Home Office officials are taking advice from cryptography experts within government on the design of the encryption scheme. The necessity for measures to permit maintenance and upgrade of the encryption scheme will be taken into account during the design.

Kent County Council Act

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to extend to the rest of England the provisions of the Kent County Council Act 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: In line with Clause 20 of the Kent County Council Act, the council will be submitting a report on the working provisions of the Act to the Secretary of State no later than 1 December 2004, which will then be laid before Parliament.
	The Home Office has also commissioned the University of Kent to evaluate the effectiveness of the legislation and we will also lay a summary of the results of this research before Parliament.
	These two reports will allow the government to make an informed decision as to whether we should pursue similar legislation nationally.

Local Government Finance (Dorset)

Jim Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what grants were awarded to local authorities in Dorset by his Department in financial year 2003–04 that fall outside the revenue support grant.

Hazel Blears: The information is set out in the table.
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 Police Authority  
			 Home Office Principal Formula Police grant 39.7 
			 Crime Fighting Fund 2.3 
			 Rural Policing Fund 0.4 
			 Airwave 0.2 
			 BCU funding 0.5 
			 Community Support Officers 0.2 
			 Special Priority Payments 0.4 
			 DMA Expansion Programme 0.5 
			 Capital grant 1.1 
			 Premises Improvement Fund 0.5 
			 Arrest Referral 0.1 
			 Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships  
			 Building Safer Communities Fund 0.9 
			 Other(50) 0.2 
			 Total 47.0 
		
	
	(50) Regional Fund and funding to tackle anti-social behaviour, domestic violence and vehicle crime provided to BCUs and CDRPs and Dorset county council.

Managed Migration Programmes

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on how he makes use of the assistance provided by the (a) UK National Recognition Information Centre and (b) UK National Reference Point for Vocational Qualifications in the support of Managed Migration programmes.

Beverley Hughes: The criteria for the issue of work permits and for the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme requires Work Permits (UK) to be satisfied that overseas workers possess the skills and qualifications necessary to take up jobs in the UK. To qualify for a work permit the job is expected to require the individual to have either:
	(a) UK equivalent degree level qualification; or,
	(b) a Higher National Diploma (HND) level qualification which is relevant to the post on offer; or,
	(c) an HND level qualification which is not relevant to the post plus one year of relevant full-time work experience at National/Scottish Vocational Qualification (N/SVQ) level 3 or above; or,
	(d) three years full time experience, at N/SVQ level 3 or above, of using specialist skills acquired through doing the type of job for which the permit is sought.
	In considering this element of the work permit application Work Permits (UK) will, in some cases, consult the UK National Recognition Information Centre and the UK National Reference Point for Vocational Qualifications to ensure the qualifications and skills obtained overseas meet the work permit criteria.

Mr. Paul Watson

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure that documents requested by the hon. Member for Morley and Rothwell's constituent, Mr. Paul Watson, regarding his criminal record in support of his defence at trial in France are provided swiftly.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 26 February 2004
	Officials in the Home Office have liaised with the French authorities and they understand that a letter of request will shortly be issued in Mr. Watson's case. The UK Central Authority at the Home Office will arrange for it to be dealt with as expeditiously as possible once they receive it.

National Offender Management Service

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who the employer for qualified probation officers will be under the National Offender Management Service.

Paul Goggins: In the short term probation officers will continue to be employed by probation boards. Future arrangements have yet to be finalised and will be subject to the usual consultation arrangements with staff and unions.

National Offender Management Service

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what role chief officers will have under the National Offender Management Service.

Paul Goggins: In the short term the role of chief officers will remain as it is. Any proposed changes will be subject to the usual consultation arrangements.

National Offender Management Service

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for the public protection function of the Probation Service to be the subject of contestability under the National Offender Management Service structures.

Paul Goggins: The details of contestability within correctional services will be developed as part of the implementation of the Reducing Crime—Changing Lives reforms. Inter-agency work to protect the public and encourage rehabilitation will remain a crucial element of the work of the National Offender Management Service.

Naturalisation Application

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the application for naturalisation dated 19 November 2003 by Mrs. Tomes of Christchurch, reference T1072596, will be processed.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 5 March 2004
	Mrs. Tomes application has been processed and a decision was reached on 3 March.

No Fixed Abode

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the monetary grant made available to all prisoners on release from custodial sentence is greater if a prisoner states no fixed abode as their address.

Paul Goggins: A higher rate of discharge grant (£94.40) is paid to prisoners on release only if there is a need to seek, obtain and pay for accommodation. It is only paid to prisoners with no accommodation arranged in advance if this arises through no fault of the prisoner. Otherwise the standard rates of discharge grant paid are £46.75 (for prisoners aged 25 and older) or £37 (for prisoners aged 18 to 24).

Online Passport Applications

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passport applications have been made online in each year since the service became available.

Beverley Hughes: UK Passport Services (UKPS) online passport application is an electronic service that allows applicants to enter their details on to an electronic passport application form. The form is then pre-populated and sent to the applicant by post for inclusion of their signature, payment and supporting documentation.
	UKPS's online service has been available since 13 November 2000. The table shows the number of application forms completed online each year since the service became available.
	
		
			  Number of forms completed 
		
		
			 2000 (13 November until 31 December) 1,670 
			 2001 46,514 
			 2002 93,156 
			 2003 149,003 
			 2004 (1 January until 29 February) 62,046

Police

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many days were lost through sickness in (a) the Lancashire constabulary and (b) police forces of a similar size and displaying similar characteristics in England since 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The total number of days lost to sick leave, and average days per officer and support staff member, in Lancashire Constabulary, and the most similar forces, in each of the years since 2000 are identified:
	
		
			 Force Days lost to sick leave Days per officer Days per staff 
		
		
			 1999–2000
			 Avon and Somerset 54,244 11.5 11.8 
			 Durham 22,463 10.6 9.0 
			 Gwent 23,509 13.2 11.2 
			 Hertfordshire 29,291 10.4 11.1 
			 Humberside 27,563 9.1 9.8 
			 Kent 54,023 10.7 11.2 
			 Lancashire 57,854 12.4 117 
			 South Wales 70,766 15.5 18.8 
			 England and Wales 2,172,859 11.6 12.4 
			 
			 2000–01
			 Avon and Somerset 60,333 13.4 12.3 
			 Durham 26,983 13.0 10.6 
			 Gwent 27,218 15.4 13.1 
			 Hertfordshire 35,956 11.8 13.7 
			 Humberside 26,334 8.6 11.5 
			 Kent 59,134 11.6 11.5 
			 Lancashire 60,924 12.5 12.8 
			 South Wales 69,983 16.1 14.6 
			 England and Wales 2,263,075 12.2 12.6 
			 
			 2001–02
			 Avon and Somerset 61,620 13.0 12.5 
			 Durham 25,296 11.1 11.9 
			 Gwent 28,870 15.6 12.0 
			 Hertfordshire 35,339 11.9 10.9 
			 Humberside 27,493 8.6 10.2 
			 Kent 61,170 11.1 11.8 
			 Lancashire 59,417 11.6 11.7 
			 South Wales 60,785 12.7 14.0 
			 England and Wales 2,228,478 11.5 12.0 
			 
			 2002–03
			 Avon and Somerset 60,468 11.4 12.8 
			 Durham 25,148 10.1 12.6 
			 Gwent 26,508 10.5 13.2 
			 Hertfordshire 36,860 10.6 12.4 
			 Humberside 25,094 7.8 8.1 
			 Kent 65,089 10.7 12.7 
			 Lancashire 61,296 10.9 14.1 
			 South Wales 54,537 10.1 13.9 
			 England and Wales 2,158,146 10.4 11.7 
		
	
	The National Policing plan for 2002, I set a target of 11.5 days for police officers and 12.0 for police staff by the end of 2005–06. Achieving further reductions in sickness absence is one of the principle objectives of the Strategy for a Healthy Police Service.
	The Strategy for a Healthy Police has continued to focus forces on the reduction of sickness absence, and provide forces with funding to improve their occupational health, safety and welfare provision further.
	Sickness absence figures have improved since the launch of the Strategy, with overall sickness absence now at a national average of 10.4 days per officer per year, and 11.7 per support staff member. The best performing forces have continued to make improvements, but the gap between best and worst performers has also significantly narrowed.
	Lancashire has continued to make progress in reducing its sickness absence levels.

Police

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2004, Official Report, column 243W, on police, what the reasons were for the rise in numbers of accidents in which police vehicles were involved in Gloucestershire; and what the approximate cost of this increase was.

Caroline Flint: Unfortunately, the table showing the number of accidents involving police vehicles given in the answer contained some errors. I apologise for this. The correct table is now shown as follows.
	We do not keep records centrally on the reasons for every police vehicle accident across the country. The Home Office has, however, consulted the Chief Constable of the Gloucestershire Constabulary, who informs us that all police vehicle accidents in his Force area are carefully monitored. Procedures and policies are kept under review in line with national Association of Chief Police Officers guidelines. Officers driving police vehicles undergo extensive training and the safety of officers and the public is taken extremely seriously.
	It is not possible to say exactly why this increase has occurred. The number of police vehicle accidents fluctuates over time, across the country. Gloucestershire Constabulary has increased its number of operational officers and vehicles over recent years. This has increased vehicle mileage to 4,138,830 miles in the last 12 months. Information is not available centrally on the costs of police vehicle accidents. However, a significant number of accidents recorded involve only minor damage with no risk of injury to any party. None of the accidents resulted in fatalities, to either police officers or members of the public.
	
		Total police vehicle accidents
		
			  1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–20 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 507 477 531 457 394 616 647 
			 Bedfordshire 205 320 161 215 170 167 196 
			 Cambridgeshire 256 303 238 200 225 183 217 
			 Cheshire 194 111 142 112 124 175 167 
			 City of London 80 62 64 56 90 30 38 
			 Cleveland 75 86 44 62 92 (51)— 142 
			 Cumbria 116 133 87 144 152 182 186 
			 Derbyshire 320 383 399 355 379 399 447 
			 Devon and Cornwall 250 308 337 347 352 369 449 
			 Dorset 119 139 129 143 166 188 184 
			 Durham 159 142 184 157 182 178 (51)— 
			 Dyfed-Powys 75 42 40 88 162 198 204 
			 Essex 391 396 406 392 446 392 414 
			 Gloucestershire 196 147 163 228 181 124 203 
			 Greater Manchester 957 774 933 981 1,108 1,050 1,038 
			 Gwent 195 182 217 194 179 199 160 
			 Hampshire 555 594 560 665 622 617 543 
			 Hertfordshire 223 196 197 221 307 310 344 
			 Humberside 188 207 236 162 198 194 150 
			 Kent 423 546 448 427 507 506 732 
			 Lancashire 449 268 160 417 331 244 510 
			 Leicestershire 214 173 186 168 161 145 180 
			 Lincolnshire 71 94 185 149 141 114 131 
			 Merseyside 320 414 262 335 260 325 240 
			 Metropolitan Police 3,783 4,045 4,645 4,643 5,375 3,657 4,910 
			 Norfolk 192 211 184 221 224 202 231 
			 Northamptonshire 134 139 91 68 147 86 121 
			 Northumbria (51)— 489 472 510 445 432 513 
			 North Wales 95 48 46 46 77 92 60 
			 North Yorkshire 131 140 140 102 167 117 397 
			 Nottinghamshire 298 278 225 211 213 240 316 
			 South Wales 597 563 651 663 873 833 917 
			 South Yorkshire 292 357 400 367 279 216 316 
			 Staffordshire 557 644 646 527 462 298 306 
			 Suffolk 136 122 168 143 137 142 119 
			 Surrey 270 108 108 42 148 103 320 
			 Sussex 401 282 223 567 462 (51)— 470 
			 Thames Valley 888 688 918 1,045 1,063 1,127 992 
			 Warwickshire 137 135 123 136 132 135 119 
			 West Mercia 175 270 260 201 234 202 293 
			 West Midlands 1,503 1,367 1,210 1,220 1,286 1,360 (51)— 
			 West Yorkshire 728 500 453 629 553 619 672 
			 Wiltshire 53 63 66 52 60 60 50 
		
	
	Notes:
	(51) Data not yet submitted by force.
	1. The information is provided by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, to whom forces submit statistical returns.
	2. All figures are for financial years.
	3. The figures for police vehicle accidents include all incidents in which a police vehicle sustains damage, including those where no other vehicle is involved. They encompass a very wide range of incidents from the very serious to the trivial, such as a scratched vehicle in a police yard.

Police

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) officers and (b) civilians served in the Staffordshire police force in each year since 1996.

Hazel Blears: The information requested is set out in the table.
	
		Staffordshire Police–strength 31March 1996 to 31December 2003
		
			  Police officers Police staff 
		
		
			 31 March 1996 2,209 754 
			 31 March 1997 2,211 763 
			 31 March 1998 2,292 866 
			 31 March 1999 2,238 1,004 
			 31 March 2000 2,170 858 
			 31 March 2001 2,129 935 
			 31 March 2002 2,133 1,030 
			 31 March 2003 2,202 1,146 
			 31 December 2003 2,253 Not available

Police

Phil Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions his Department has made available additional funding for police authorities to cover the cost of large scale and expensive investigations in each of the last five years.

Hazel Blears: Between 1999–2000 and 2003–04, 45 special grants were paid to 22 police authorities for large scale, exceptionally high cost police operations. Cases were considered in the light of individual circumstances, subject to funds being available in each year.
	The majority of payments have been for major public order and security operations. Four special grants have been for major criminal investigations. The table sets out special grant payments made in each year since 1999–2000.
	
		£ million
		
			 Force area 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 to date 
		
		
			 Cambridgeshire — 1.0 — (53)4.65 — 
			 Cleveland — 1.9 — — — 
			 Devon and Cornwall 0.52 — — — — 
			 Dorset(52) 1.6 0.9 — 0.89 1.87 
			 Essex(57) 2.0 0.135 — — — 
			 Gloucestershire(56) — — — 0.25 4.696 
			 Greater Manchester(54) — — 3.14 3.3 — 
			 Kent 0.67 — — — — 
			 Lancashire(52) 0.89 — 1.89 1.5 1.08 
			 Lincolnshire(58) — — — — 0.5 
			 London, City of — — 1.2 — — 
			 Metropolitan police — 1.0 1.0 — — 
			 North Yorkshire — — 1.0 — 0.1 
			 South Yorkshire 1.0 1.0 — 1.0 — 
			 South Wales — — 0.3 0.3 0.15 
			 Staffordshire 0.36 — — — 0.25 
			 Surrey — 0.1 — (58)0.28 — 
			 Sussex(52) — 1.66 1.75 — — 
			 Warwickshire 0.15 — — — — 
			 West Midlands 0.116 — — — — 
			 West Yorkshire(55) — — 2.22 — 1.0 
			 Wiltshire(58) — 0.87 — — — 
			 Total 7.306 8.565 12.5 12.17 9.646 
		
	
	(52) Dorset, Lancashire and Sussex regularly receive special grants for the cost of policing the annual Labour and Conservative party conferences.
	(53) Includes £3.5 million for the Soham murder investigation.
	(54) Policing of the Commonwealth Games and Oldham riot.
	(55) Bradford riot policing costs.
	(56) Grant to date for policing of RAF Fairford during Iraq war.
	(57) Stansted Airport hijack.
	(58) Surrey was assisted with the cost of the Amanda Dowler, Deepcut Barracks and SE rapist investigations, Wiltshire with the cost of the Porton Down investigation. Lincolnshire is being assisted with a major fraud investigation.

Police

Alan Hurst: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much compensation was paid by police authorities in England and Wales to claimants in respect of assaults by serving police officers in each year from 1990 to 2003.

Hazel Blears: Information concerning how much compensation was paid by police authorities in England and Wales to claimants in respect of assaults by serving police officers in each year from 1990 to 2003 is not held centrally either by the Home Office or, I understand, by the Association of Police Authorities. It could therefore be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Police

Alan Hurst: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many successful claimants against police authorities in England and Wales in respect of assault by serving police officers were themselves originally charged with assault or a public order offence in each year from 1990 to 2003;
	(2)  how many successful claims against police authorities in England and Wales in respect of assault by serving officers were concluded in each year from 1990 to 2003.

Hazel Blears: Information concerning how many successful claims against police authorities in England and Wales, in respect of assault by serving officers, were concluded in each year from 1990 to 2003 is not held centrally by the Home Office or I understand by the Association of Police Authorities. It could therefore be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Police

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the percentage change in full-time police officers in Crosby has been since 1997.

Hazel Blears: Crosby is part of the Sefton Basic Command Unit (BCU). Information on strength at BCU level is collected annually and reflects the position at the end of March for each year. Information on BCU strength is only available from 2002.
	Between March 2002 and March 2003 police strength for the Sefton BCU increased by 0.5 per cent. (from 431 to 433). The deployment of officers to BCUs is a matter for the Chief Constable (Norman Bettison QPM) and within the Sefton BCU deployment of officers is a matter for Divisional Commander.

Prison Education

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 1 March 2004, Official Report, column 722W, on prison education, what security limits internet access for prisoners; and what circumstances permit 31 prisoners to have regular access to the internet.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 9 March 2004
	The Prison Service has a duty to protect the public. Integral to this is the restriction of prisoner communications. This is necessary in order to prevent escapes, disorder in prisons, the intimidation of witnesses, or making unwanted or inappropriate contact with victims of crime and/or children, and the conducting of criminal activity from within jails. To allow prisoners generally to have access to the internet would undermine security.
	The prisoners who have regular access to the internet have been granted this for the particular requirements of the work at which they are employed. Their allocation to this work is subject to an individual risk assessment. They sign agreements about their use of the internet. They are monitored closely by an information technology (IT) manager and the websites they visit are controlled and subject to audit.
	Although no prisoners have access to the internet for education there are schemes provided by the Department for Education and Skills in prisons that seek to give prisoners training in internet IT skills, without open connection to the internet itself.

Prison Suicides

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners committed suicide in England and Wales before (a) having their mental health assessed and (b) receiving treatment for mental health problems, for each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: The data requested are not collated centrally and could only be provided by examination of individual case records, which would be at disproportionate cost.
	Upon reception into prison, all newly received prisoners, plus those who change status, (for example by being convicted), and those transferred from another establishment, are assessed to determine whether they have any immediate physical and mental health needs.
	The Department of Health and the Prison Service are working together to implement a revised reception health screening process during 2004. These new arrangements focus particularly on ensuring prompt and effective identification of those individuals with mental health problems, or who may be at risk of suicide/self-harm, so that they can be appropriately treated and cared for.

Prisoners

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what offences female Jamaican nationals were serving prison sentences in the UK in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: The number of sentenced female Jamaican nationals in prison in England and Wales, by offence group, is given in the following table. Figures are for the 30 June each year from 1997 to 2003.
	Information relating to Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for Ministers in the Scottish Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly.
	
		Sentenced female Jamaican prisoners by offence, at 30June, 1999 to 2003
		
			  1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Violence against the person 1 0 2 3 3 
			 Burglary 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Robbery 1 0 0 1 1 
			 Theft and handling 1 1 1 1 1 
			 Fraud and forgery 2 1 1 5 4 
			 Drugs offences 129 152 249 425 374 
			 Other offences 2 1 1 0 1 
			 Offence not recorded 0 0 1 1 1

Research Licences

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what licences have been issued since 1997 for carrying out research involving the observation of captured wild rats in a model sewer system.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is not maintained in that form in a central database. A check of work currently licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 has not identified any projects involving observational studies of this type. However, licence authorities under the 1986 Act would not be required for such work if it was unlikely to cause pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm.

Special Constables

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list, broken down by force and in total, the average number of hours worked per head by special constables in each of the last three years.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 9 March 2004
	There are no statistics published on the average number of hours worked per head by Special Constables.

Travel Documents

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are proposed to ensure that people arriving in the UK are aware of the offence of deliberately losing or destroying travel documents.

Beverley Hughes: We will advise those coming to the United Kingdom of the potential consequences of destroying or disposing of their documentation through our embassies and High Commissions abroad and the foreign media. This will be reinforced by displaying warning notices immediately on arrival at UK ports of entry.

Work Permits

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many work permits were issued in each year since 1997; and what (a) forecasts he has made and (b) evidence of need he has collected for each year to 2010.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 25 February 2004
	The total number of work permits issued, including extensions, in the period from 1997 to the third quarter 2003 (the latest date for which information is available) is as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997 44,958 
			 1998 53,962 
			 1999 60,743 
			 2000 88,651 
			 2001 120,823 
			 2002 136,151 
			 2003 108,221 
		
	
	The work permit system is designed to be flexible and responsive to the needs of employers and the economy. There are no forecasted targets for the number of work permits issued, although Work Permits (UK) does make internal planning assumptions about expected volumes of applications, in order to allocate resources to process applications. Work Permits (UK) Business Plan for 2003–2004 makes a planning assumption of 230, 500 applications received. This total includes Sector Based Scheme, Highly Skilled Migrant Programme and Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme applications and extensions.
	These planning assumptions are informed by monitoring trends in volumes of applications and consultation with stakeholders, including other government departments on labour market conditions.
	However, there is no long-term forecast of expected volumes of applications.

Work Permits

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his assessment of the benefit to the UK of work permits.

Beverley Hughes: The work permit arrangements are a key part of the Government's managed migration strategy, under which the United Kingdom seeks to offer legal routes for the admission of those foreign nationals who possess skills and qualifications that are in short supply here and who will contribute to the economy.
	The work permit arrangements offer an efficient and responsive means of ensuring that UK employers are able to recruit overseas workers with the skills that they need, while protecting the interests of resident workers.

Yarl's Wood Detention Centre

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when an annual report was prepared by the independent monitoring board for Yarl's Wood.

Beverley Hughes: The Independent Monitoring Board for Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre produced a first report in spring 2002 covering the period from their first meeting in November 2001 to the temporary closure of the centre on 31 March 2002.
	The Board will produce an annual report covering the period from the re-opening of Yarl's Wood at the end of September 2003 to December 2004 by 31 January 2005 in accordance with the Detention Centre Rules.

HEALTH

"Agenda for Change"

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 26 February 2004, Official Report, column 537W, on "Agenda for Change", to what extent there will be flexibility for individual employers to pay recruitment and retention premiums.

John Hutton: Under the proposed new national health service pay system, "Agenda for Change", NHS employers will be able to pay recruitment and retention premiums to individual postholders or groups of postholders where market pressures would otherwise prevent employers from being able to recruit and retain staff in sufficient numbers. Before paying recruitment and retention premia, NHS employers will need to satisfy themselves that agreed criteria have been met and will need to have consulted with staff representatives, neighbouring employers, strategic health authorities and other stakeholders.

A and E Departments

Alan Hurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were treated in the accident and emergency departments of NHS hospitals in each year from 1990 to 2002.

Rosie Winterton: The number of patients attending accident and emergency departments in national health service hospitals in England 1989–90 to 2002–03 is shown in the table.
	
		Attendances at A&E departments, England, 1989–90 to 2002–03
		
			  New attendances Follow-up attendances Total attendances 
		
		
			 1989–90 11,207,099 2,728,203 13,935,302 
			 1990–91 11,204,059 2,512,913 13,716,972 
			 1991–92 11,035,326 2,270,155 13,305,481 
			 1992–93 10,993,202 2,077,009 13,070,211 
			 1993–94 11,364,703 1,923,987 13,288,690 
			 1994–95 11,942,599 1,869,123 13,811,722 
			 1995–96 12,461,909 1,772,381 14,234,290 
			 1996–97 12,483,633 1,642,544 14,126,177 
			 1997–98 12,793,720 1,570,426 14,364,146 
			 1998–99 12,811,064 1,469,324 14,280,388 
			 1999–2000 13,167,495 1,461,530 14,629,025 
			 2000–01 12,953,432 1,339,875 14,293,307 
			 2001–02 12,852,702 1,191,316 14,044,018 
			 2002–03 12,945,413 1,100,162 14,045,575 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health form KH09

Angiography

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when his Department started collecting the figures for angiography waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the reasons for collecting this data centrally.

Melanie Johnson: Improving angiography access times forms an important part of the national service framework for coronary heart disease. Strategic health authorities outlined their plans to improve access in the local delivery plans (LDPs). Monitoring against the LDPs started in 2003–04. It is expected data will be of sufficient quality to publish shortly.
	Hospital episode statistics which have been used previously outline the length of time someone had waited when treated, not the time someone is waiting.

Asthma

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients (a) over and (b) under 45 years were admitted to hospital for asthma in (i) Greater London and (ii) each London borough in the last five years.

John Hutton: The information is not available in the format requested. Information on patients admitted to London hospitals with a primary diagnosis of asthma by primary care trust of residence for the year 2002 to 2003, has been placed in the Library. Information for previous years by PCT of residence is not available.

Bereavement Services

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to encourage a co-ordinated approach to bereavement services within his Department.

Rosie Winterton: A three year training and development strategy was started in 2003 to enable clinical and other staff to manage bereavement well. This required additional funding of £2.7 million per year paid directly to trusts. An additional £300,000 is spent each year by the Department over the three year period for the central preparation of professional standards, training tools and materials to be used by trusts. Joint protocols have been developed between the national health service and coroners to train staff in procedures for obtaining consent for post mortem examinations and for provision of support at the time of death.

Bereavement Services

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether NHS hospitals have staff specially allocated to provide the newly bereaved with sound information on existing laws and procedures so that they can be supported in making quick decisions about funerals.

Rosie Winterton: The provision of bereavement counselling services within the national health service trusts is a requirement set by the Chief Medical Officer as part of his recommendations following the Alder Hay Inquiry. Families have the right to be provided with sensitive support and advice from NHS trusts at the time of bereavement, responsive to different religious and cultural beliefs. In order to meet this requirement, a three year training and development programme for all trusts was started in 2003. A survey of all trusts will be undertaken in April 2004 to establish the level of support currently in place.

Capital Projects

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the implications for the proposed Droitwich Spa one-stop shop of his decision to change the funding arrangements for the project.

Stephen Ladyman: Significant new revenue funding is being made available to support public, private capital investment in the primary care estate based on local prioritisation of development proposals.
	The funding arrangements have changed as a result of the new general medical services (GMS) contract which has been negotiated between the NHS Confederation and the General Practitioners Committee.
	Previously revenue premises costs were funded via both the non cash limited and cash limited GMS routes. From April 2004 this funding will become resource limited and primary care trusts will manage this in conjunction with those resources in their unified allocation.
	The future of the Droitwich Spa development will depend on the priority for investment in this facility relative to other such developments within the west Midland south area.
	This will be decided by a planning group compromising all of the primary care trust chief executives within the west Midlands south area.

Cardiac Care

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people from each primary care trust area in England received cardiac treatment at hospitals in Greater London in the last six years for which information is available.

John Hutton: The information requested for the year 2002 to 2003, has been placed in the Library. Information for previous years is not available.

Chorley Hospital

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list new health services available at Chorley Hospital since 2000; and how much money has been spent on Chorley Hospital since 2000.

Melanie Johnson: Chorley and South Ribble Hospital was commissioned as a new district general hospital in 1995–96. Since 2000, there has been approximately £10 million of investment in the following areas:
	New medical ward
	12 station dialysis unit
	new dermatology/diabetes centre
	bedside televisions/telephone system
	multi-faith prayer room
	two new theatres
	new clinic for breast services
	orthopaedic/fracture clinics
	new discharge lounge
	new nursery for staff child care
	new sterile services unit.
	Service developments include:
	renal dialysis
	extended elective orthopaedic service, serving Chorley and Preston
	dermatology service for Chorley and Preston
	further facilities for admission of medical patients
	plastic surgery outpatients
	vascular surgery outpatients
	additional orthopaedic clinics
	Source
	Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority.

Coldeast Hospital, Fareham

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the future use of the Coldeast Hospital Site in Fareham.

John Hutton: holding answer 9 March 2004
	The ownership of the Coldeast Hospital site is split between the Secretary of State for Health, Fareham and Gosport Primary Care Trust (PCT) and West Hampshire National Health Service Trust.
	Reserved matters planning consent has recently been granted for a total of 253 housing units on those parts of the site owned by the Secretary of State for Health and the Fareham and Gosport PCT.
	Options for the sale of the Secretary of State's land are currently being considered. Fareham and Gosport PCT is firming up its plans for the health service needs of both Fareham and Gosport residents and the health campus on the Coldeast site is a key part of those plans.

Communications Masts

Andy King: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action the Department has taken to investigate the potential health risks of Tetra masts in residential areas.

Melanie Johnson: The Stewart Report, in 2000, provided a thorough and comprehensive consideration of the public health concerns associated with mobile phone systems and is available on the web site at www.iegmp.org.uk. The report dealt principally with signals from the widely used mobile phone (GSM) technologies but it did note some contradictory results when examining the biological effects of pulsed radio signals similar to those associated with TETRA (Terrestrial Trunked Radio). While no obvious health effect was suggested, it did recommend a precautionary approach.
	The main conclusion about base stations from the Stewart Report was that:
	"the balance of evidence indicates that there is no general risk to the health of people living near to base stations on the basis that exposures are expected to be small fractions of guidelines".
	A substantial number of measurements of potential exposures of the public from base station emissions, have now been made by a number of bodies, including the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB)—www.nrpb.org and the Radiocommunications Agency (now part of OFCOM—www.ofcom.org.uk). These measurements include emissions from TETRA base stations. In all cases exposures have been very much lower than the guidelines published by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).
	The latest report from NRPB's Advisory Group on Non-Ionizing Radiation (AGNIR), entitled "Health Effects from Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields" was published on 14 January 2004 addressed the base station issue and concluded that: "Exposure levels from living near to mobile phone base stations are extremely low, and the overall evidence indicates that they are unlikely to pose a risk to health."
	Following a request by the Home Office to the NRPB, the issue of possible health effects caused by signals from TETRA base stations was comprehensively addressed by AGNIR. It published its report, "Possible Health Effects from Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA)", in 2001. This is available as Documents of NRPB, Volume 12, No 2, 2001, or on the NRPB web site at www.nrpb.org. AGNIR noted that whereas the signals from the TETRA handsets are pulsed, those from TETRA base stations are not pulsed. AGNIR concluded, therefore, that there is no reason to believe that signals from TETRA base stations should be treated differently from other base stations. The AGNIR report also found that exposures of the public to signals from TETRA base stations are small fractions of international guidelines.
	TETRA technologies are included within the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) programme set by the Government 2001—www. mthr.org.uk. An associated programme, specifically on TETRA, is being funded by the Home Office—http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk. A number of projects are already under way, but it will be some time before the results are available.

Community Pharmacists

Edward O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of (a) patients' need for monitored dosage systems and (b) the wide variation in payment mechanisms to community pharmacists for these, including charges to individual patients.

Rosie Winterton: No such assessment has been made nationally. However, primary care trusts may make local arrangements to assess need, arrange provision of services and establish a local payment mechanism.
	As part of new national community pharmacy contractual framework discussions, we are examining arrangements for the provision of compliance aids of which monitored dosage systems is but one.

Community Pharmacists

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether all the EU accession countries are compliant with the minimum training requirements in (a) medicine, (b) nursing and (c) dentistry as laid down in the relevant EC Directives.

John Hutton: All acceding states are committed to ensuring that the qualifications they award to doctors and nurses responsible for general care and dentists who begin their training on or after the date of accession meet specified minimum requirements. It is for the European Commission, which is closely monitoring their progress, to see that these obligations are met. It intends to update Member States shortly.

Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to the hon. Member for Walsall North's letter of 3 February regarding a constituent, departmental ref.PO1043437.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer on 8 March 2004
	A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 2 March 2004.

Dentistry

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the scale of charges to patients using NHS dentists is.

Rosie Winterton: National health service dental charges are subject to the National Health Service (Dental Charges) Regulations 1989, as amended. Under the current arrangements, those patients liable to pay a charge are required to make a contribution to the cost of their treatment equal to 80 per cent. of the dentist's item of services fees. These fees and their related patient charges are set out in the Statement of Dental Remuneration available at http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/01/93/20/04019320.pdf. This can also be found in the Statement of Dental Remuneration, Amendment No. 91 a copy of which is available in the Library.
	Currently about 24 per cent. of NHS adult patients are exempt from charges or qualify for a reduced charge. Children and certain other groups are exempt from charges.

Dentistry

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when information relating to dentists in Adur, Arun and Worthing was last updated by NHS Direct on the NHS website.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not collect information regarding updates on dentists made by NHS Direct. However, I am advised by NHS Direct that primary care trusts have a system in place for updating information about dentists on the NHS website at www.nhs.uk. I understand this was last updated in February 2004 for Adur, Arun and Worthing PCT.

Dentistry

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which dental surgeries are taking on non-exempt adults in (a) West Sussex and (b) Adur, Arun and Worthing Primary Care Trust.

Rosie Winterton: Information on which dental surgeries are taking adults who pay patient charges can be found on the NHS.UK website at www.nhs.uk. The information on the website is provided by primary care trusts (PCTs), and covers all national health service dental providers, not just principals and assistants in the general dental service.
	The information on the site as at 2 March 2004 shows a total of 53 dental practices in Adur, Arun and Worthing PCT area, one of which is registering charge paying adults for treatment (four are registering charge exempt adults). For the Western Sussex PCT, 48 dental practices are listed, two of which are registering charge paying adults. The information does change regularly, often daily, and both the website and NHS Direct (which also uses the information) advise members of the public to telephone the dental practice to double check that the information is still accurate.

Digital Hearing Aids

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time is for digital hearing aids in (a) England and (b) Gloucestershire; and if he will make a statement on measures he intends to take to reduce waiting times.

Stephen Ladyman: Information on waiting times for non-consultant led specialities such as audiology is not collected centrally and so we are unable to estimate an average waiting time for digital hearing aids in England. At the end of December 2003, waiting times from referral to fitting at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital were 54 weeks for patients referred by the ear, nose and throat department, 56 weeks for those referred by general practitioners and 112 weeks for patients who self referred for reassessments. These times all include an eight-week period from assessment through to the fitting of the hearing aid.
	The Royal National Institute for the Deaf modernisation team is carrying out a number of initiatives to reduce waiting times and new courses have been introduced to increase the number of audiologists available nationally.

Drug-related Deaths

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on the target to reduce the number of drug-related deaths in England since 1999.

Melanie Johnson: I refer the hon. Member to the response I gave him on 3 March 2004, Official Report, column 1021W.

Drugs Trials

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to require pharmaceutical companies to publish all results from drugs trials they conduct.

Melanie Johnson: There are no plans currently in place to require disclosure of company drug trial results. The Government welcome the pharmaceutical industry's support for the Department of Health's research governance framework for health and social care, which recognises that it is researchers' responsibility to ensure that research findings are opened to critical review through the accepted scientific and professional channels and disseminated promptly once established. The Government encourages the pharmaceutical industry to disclose drug trial results to the maximum extent consistent with regulatory process and intellectual property rights.

Environmental Protection

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the mechanisms his Department uses to ensure that environmental considerations are taken into account at each stage of the policy formation process.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 23 February 2004
	The Department has recently reviewed its policy-making processes and is considering how best policy-makers can ensure that all relevant considerations are taken into account when formulating policy.

EU Accession Countries (Migrants)

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) doctors, (b) dentists and (c) nurses from the EU accession countries he expects to come to work in the UK after 1 May.

John Hutton: The Department has made no such estimate. Decisions on whether to offer employment to doctors, dentists and nurses from the accession countries are matters for local national health service employers.

Food Labelling

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the European Commission's proposal for a regulation on nutrition and health claims made on foods; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: In order to inform the United Kingdom negotiating position on this proposal, a full public consultation has been undertaken and an open meeting with stakeholders held. In addition, the Food Standards Agency, the lead Department for the proposal, has had detailed discussions with other Government Departments.
	The Government welcomes the European Commission's proposal for harmonising rules on the regulation of nutrition and health claims and will seek, through the negotiation process, to provide adequate protection for consumers whilst minimising effects on the food industry.

Foundation Trusts

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the reasons are for establishing a risk fund for foundation trust applicants implementing the new financial flows reforms.

John Hutton: The funding will be made available to address the costs of highly complex and specialised cases for first wave national health service foundation trusts applicants for 2004–05 as the methodology to address these costs within the national tariff will not be complete until 2005–06.

Foundation Trusts

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health from which budget the funding for the risk fund for foundation trust applicants implementing the new financial flows reforms was transferred; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: The funding will be made available from the Department's unallocated provision for 2004–05.

Free Health Care (Students)

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to extend free (a) prescriptions and (b) dental care to students undertaking an apprenticeship.

Rosie Winterton: Free national health service prescriptions are available to everyone under 16. Free NHS dental treatment is available to everyone under 18. Free NHS prescriptions and free NHS dental treatment are available to everyone up to their nineteenth birthday if they are in full-time education. People who have children, or who are disabled and have low earnings may receive tax credits and a tax credit exemption certificate entitling them to free NHS prescriptions and free NHS dental treatment automatically. Otherwise, anyone can apply for help with their health costs through the NHS low income scheme. The extent of any help is based on a comparison between the claimant's weekly income and requirements at the date the claim is received. We have no plans to change the current arrangements.
	Patients who need frequent prescriptions may benefit from purchasing a prescription prepayment certificate.

GPs

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) principals and (b) non-principals were in general practice in each year since 1990 in terms of (i) whole time equivalents and (ii) total employed.

John Hutton: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

GPs

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners were appointed in (a) Greater London and (b) each London borough in the last 12 months; how many vacancies there were in that period; and how many general practitioners are in practice in (i) Greater London and (ii) each London borough.

John Hutton: holding answer 3 March 2004
	Information on general practitioner vacancies and appointments is not collected at London borough level. Information for the five London strategic health authorities has been placed in the Library.

Great Ormond Street Hospital

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set up an inquiry into Great Ormond Street Hospital's (a) treatment of junior doctors' pay obligations while on rotation and (b) handling of junior doctors' working hours.[R]

John Hutton: It is for local national health service trusts to implement national policy by ensuring they have appropriate arrangements in place for dealing with grievances/complaints, in line with national guidance, as part of good employment practice.
	Under those arrangements, there is regular monitoring to ensure that rotas are satisfactory and that safe services are provided.
	Great Ormond Street, working with staff representative organisations, has these arrangements in place and policies and procedures under which any concerns can be raised and addressed.

Great Ormond Street Hospital

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many junior doctors' rotas at Great Ormond Street Hospital are non-compliant with (a) the New Deal and (b) the EU Working Time Directive; and if he will make a statement.[R]

John Hutton: The Department does not collect this information. However, I am informed by North Central London Strategic Health Authority that:
	Great Ormond Street Trust has 44 separate rotas. 40 are currently New Deal compliant.Great Ormond Street Trust is scoring 87 per cent, overall compliance with the New Deal—above the national average—and continues to make good progress. 24 rotas are European Union Working Time Directive compliant and plans are in place to convert the others by September 2004, which is the deadline for compliance.

Health Resource Groups

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the robustness of the health resource group for specialist services, in advance of the implementation of these groups as a basis for the financial flows reforms.

John Hutton: The Department is carrying out a review of specialised services so as to ensure that providers of these services are fairly reimbursed under the financial flows reforms. We recognise that, for some of these services, case mix adjustment based on current health care resource group classifications (HRGs) may not, by itself, provide sufficient reimbursement to specialised providers. Work is under way to refine HRGs to overcome this problem. We are also looking at other options such as adjustments to tariff for patients who have an exceptionally long stay in hospital. We shall be consulting widely with providers and commissioners of these services to make sure that we find the best way forward for each service.

Hip Replacements

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the waiting time for hip replacements is at the Royal London Hospital.

John Hutton: The Department of Health does not collect this information by specific procedure.
	Data on patients waiting for trauma and orthopaedic elective admission at Barts and the London National Health Service Trust, of which the Royal London Hospital is a part, as at 31 December 2003 (the latest data available), is shown in the table.
	
		Patients waiting for trauma and orthopaedic elective admission at Barts and the London NHS Trust: position at 31December 2003
		
			  Patients waiting for admission by months waiting  
		
		
			 Less than 3 months 582 
			 3 to 5 months 402 
			 6 to 8 months 237 
			 9 to 11 months 76 
			 Total 1,297

Medical Negligence

Stephen Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the NHS in respect of (a) medical negligence cases and (b) other legal claims was in each year since 1992; and what estimate he has made of the potential costs arising from outstanding cases.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer on 8 March 2004
	Payments made for medical negligence and other legal claims in each year since 1996 are shown in the table. Information for the period 1992 to 1995 cannot be separately identified.
	
		£ million
		
			  Medical negligence in year payments Other legal claims in year payments/receipts 
		
		
			 1996–97 235 22 
			 1997–98 144 23 
			 1998–99 221 38 
			 1999–2000 373 19 
			 2000–2001 415 10 
			 2001–02 446 4 
		
	
	Note:
	Changes to accounting policies imposed by the HM Treasury over the years mean that these amounts are not directly comparable.
	Estimates of potential costs of outstanding cases:
	(i) The estimated cost of settling all actual clinical negligence claims and incidents that have occurred but may not necessarily result in claims is £5.25 billion as at 31 March 2002.
	(ii) The estimated cost of settling all other legal claims is £113 million as at 31 March 2002.
	Sources
	Medical negligence
	NHS (England) Summarised Accounts 1996–97 to 2001–02 (the latest year published, the report for 2002–2003 is yet to be published)
	Other legal claims
	Health authority audited accounts 1996–97 to 1998–99
	Health authority audited summarisation forms 1999–2000 to 2001–02
	Primary care trust audited summarisation schedules 2000–01 to 2001–02
	NHS trust audited summarisation schedules 1996–97 to 2001–02

Medicines and Healthcare ProductsRegulatory Agency

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to use public funds to finance the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency.

John Hutton: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) uses public funds to finance the net costs of its work on medical devices. The MHRA's work on medicines is funded by fees from users, principally pharmaceutical companies, as has been the case for more than ten years.

Men's Health

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to develop the evidence base required for health practitioners to improve the health of men most at risk of (a) heart disease, (b) cancer and (c) obesity following the cancellation of the Health Development Agency's men's health work programme.

Melanie Johnson: The evidence base on coronary heart disease (CHD), cancer and obesity has been and continues to be extensively developed by the Health Development Agency (HDA) for both men and women. In particular, in 2002–04 the HDA published evidence briefings on obesity, physical activity, smoking cessation and alcohol. Furthermore, the HDA produced guidance on CHD and cancer in response to and support of the national service frameworks.
	In 2004–05, the HDA will be commissioning a consortium of the University of Oxford, the University of Loughborough and the South East Public Health Observatory, as an evidence and guidance collaborating centre, on physical activity. The HDA is currently involved in producing guidance on the treatment and prevention of obesity in conjunction with the National Institute for Clinical Excellence.
	Specifically in relation to men's health, the HDA will be taking men's health forward as a cross-cutting issue. As a result of the work it has undertaken, the HDA will be producing a database of intervention and prevention strategies related to men's health. There are two pieces of commissioned work on the research priorities and a mapping exercise of published and on-going research in the field of men's health.
	The HDA is focusing on the complete range of social diversity in the population, including, gender, as well as age, geography, socio-economic grouping and ethnicity. This is consistent with the Wanless II Report, published in February. The range of social diversity is reflected in all aspects of programme development and implementation across the HDA.
	A number of publications have been made available from work in this area, as follows:
	Health Development Agency (2000). Coronary Heart Disease. Guidance for implementing the preventive aspects of the national service framework. Available at http://www.hda-online.org.uk/documents/chdframework.pdf.
	Health Development Agency (2002). Cancer Prevention. A resource to support local action in delivering The NHS Cancer Plan. Available at http://www.hda-online.org.uk/documents/cancer prevention.pdf.
	Hillsdown M, Foster C, Naidoo B and Crombie H (2004—forthcoming). The effectiveness of public health interventions for increasing physical activity among adults: a review of reviews. Available at http://www.hda.nhs.uk/evidence/EBBD. html_pub.
	Mclean C, (2002). UK Men's Health Review. Available at http://www.hda-online.org.uk/documents/mens health mapping 10–02.doc.
	Mulvihill C, Quigley R (2003). The management of obesity and overweight: An analysis of reviews of diet, physical activity and behavioural approaches. Available at http://www.hda.nhs.uk/evidence/EBBD.html_pub.
	Naidoo B. Edited by Quigley R, Taylor L and Warm D (2004—forthcoming). The effectiveness of public health interventions to reduce smoking initiation and increase smoking cessation: a review of reviews. Available at http://www.hda.nhs.uk/evidence/EBBD.html_pub.
	Waller S, Naidoo B, Thorn B (2002). Prevention and reduction of alcohol misuse: Evidence briefing. Available at http://www.hda.nhs.uk/evidence/EBBD.html_pub. Watson J (2004—forthcoming). Men and health: Report of a Delphi study to scope themes for evidence-based reviews.

Mental Health

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many acute mental illness beds were available (a) for the elderly, (b) for children, (c) for other age groups and (d) in secure units in 2002–03 in the area covered by Newcastle Primary Care Trust; and what the occupancy rates were in each case.

Melanie Johnson: In 2002–03, there were no mental illness beds at the Newcastle Primary Care Trust. However, figures for the Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland Mental Health National Health Service Trust for the same period are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Available bed days Occupied bed days Percentage occupancy rate 
		
		
			 Mental illness: elderly short stay 125 110 80.0 
			 Mental illness: elderly long stay 125 114 91.2 
			 Mental illness: children 20 14 70.0 
			 Mental illness: children long stay 0 0 0 
			 Mental illness: other ages/secure 49 45 91.8 
			 Mental illness: other ages/short stay 314 250 79.6 
			 Mental illness: other ages/long stay 94 71 75.5 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health KH03 Form.

Mental Health

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's total spending on anti-discrimination in mental health work has been over the last two years; and what the planned expenditure is for the next two years.

Rosie Winterton: The Department conducts its anti discrimination in mental health work through the "Mind out for mental health" campaign. Campaign spending over the last two years is shown in the table.
	
		£
		
			  Spending 
		
		
			 2002–03 905,662 
			 2003–04 (59)824,305 
		
	
	(59) Forecast of final outturn.
	Decisions on expenditure for mental health anti discrimination work for the next two years have not yet been made.

Needlestick Injury

Laura Moffatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish guidelines to NHS staff on needlestick injury.

John Hutton: The Department is in the process of producing new guidance on the Management of Occupational Health and Safety Services in the national health service in response to the National Audit Office Report, "A Safer Place to Work—improving the management of health and safety risks to staff in the NHS". The new guidance will include comprehensive new guidelines on the management of needlesticks. It is due to be published later this year.

NHS Dentistry

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in the recruitment of NHS dentists in Blackpool North and Fleetwood.

Melanie Johnson: Blackpool Primary Care Trust (PCT) is addressing the issue of recruitment by developing access to services through facilities and staff employed at the Fylde Coast Medical services. Wyre PCT has taken a number of steps to address current vacancies. These include:
	a dental surgery within a proposed new primary care centre to be built in 2005;
	a golden hello for new practitioners in the area; and
	an advert in the February edition of the British Dental Journal.

NHS Dentistry

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average distance for people to access NHS dentists is in (a) Lancashire and (b) Chorley.

Melanie Johnson: The average direct distances from postcodes in Lancashire and Chorley to the nearest dentist are 0.67 miles and 0.77 miles respectively.

NHS Financial Reforms

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether there will be a risk fund for all NHS trusts implementing the new financial flows reforms over the next five years.

John Hutton: We do not expect such a fund will be necessary from 2005–06 onwards for either national health service trusts or NHS foundation trusts. This is because methodology to address the costs of highly complex and specialised cases within the tariff is planned to be developed for implementation from 2005–06.

NHS Funding

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the size of the risk fund needed to implement the national tariff payment by results system across all NHS trusts; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: In 2004–05, we are considering allocating up to £50 million to specialist and teaching first wave national health service foundation trusts which are implementing the full transition to payment by results a year ahead of the rest of the NHS. The funding will be made available to address the costs of highly complex and specialised cases for first wave applicants for 2004–05, because the methodology to address these costs within the national tariff will not be ready for implementation until 2005–06. These funds will be available for 2004–05 only.

NHS Obsolete Equipment

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the (a) value and (b) type of obsolete but working NHS equipment that was discarded in 2003.

Melanie Johnson: No assessment has been made of the amount of obsolete but working equipment in the national health service. However the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency is involved in several initiatives to look at how unwanted but working items can be disposed of most efficiently.

NHS Staff

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been commissioned by his Department into the attitudes of staff in the NHS since 1997.

John Hutton: The Department of Health Policy Research Programme has funded research on a range of issues in the national health service which has included components whereby staff's attitudes have been sought across a range of issues. Research containing a significant element on staff attitudes has been commissioned on topics including:
	cohort studies of nurses' careers;
	cohort studies of doctors' careers;
	the attractiveness of the NHS as an employer;
	the establishment of the role of nurse consultant;
	the establishment of the role of modern matron;
	the extension of nurse prescribing;
	the retention of women in the primary care nursing workforce after the age of 50;
	benchmarking and bowel care in community home settings;
	vaccinating health workers against influenza;
	labour costs, clinical outcomes and staff attitudes;
	health infomatics education for health professionals;
	staff satisfaction, patient satisfaction and patient outcomes;
	overseas doctors' experiences and expectations of training in the UK;
	the attractiveness of the NHS as an employer to potential nursing and allied health professionals staff;
	staff involvement in the NHS.
	A list of Policy Research Programme projects have been placed in the Library.
	In addition, NHS trusts are required to conduct staff opinion surveys and 10 core questions about staff involvement and communications were added to local surveys in 2001 and 2002 and the results fed into performance ratings. From 2003 Commission for Health Improvement took over responsibility for conducting national NHS staff opinion surveys which will assess staff attitudes to a number of areas of their work.

NHS Trust Documents

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 12 February 2004, Official Report, column 1695, on NHS trust documents, whether his Department collects and retains copies of (a) Mersey Regional Ambulance Service's lone worker policy and (b) the job description of its communications manager; and for what reason it has not obtained a copy of Ms Pearl Browne's report on the management of the Mersey Regional Ambulance Service.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 3 March 2004
	The Department does not routinely collect copies of Mersey Regional Ambulance Service's lone worker policy and the job description of its communications manager. The Pearl Brown report on the management of the Mersey Regional Ambulance Service is a confidential report commissioned solely by the trust and neither the Department nor the Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority had any input to it.

NHS Trust Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether public dividend capital on the balance sheets of NHS hospital trusts is classified as debt.

John Hutton: holding answer on 5 March 2005
	National Health Service trusts account for public dividend capital (PDC) as equity. PDC is a form of public sector financing which does not conform to the standard accounting definitions of equity and debt used in the private sector. It is more akin to an equity stake than a loan, as it is remunerated by dividend rather than fixed or variable interest.

Nursing

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses have come to the UK from abroad in each of the last five years to work in the NHS; and from which countries.

John Hutton: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	The Nursing and Midwifery Council holds information on the number of nurses registering to practise in the United Kingdom each year from overseas. This information can be found at www.nmc-uk.org.

Nursing

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what marketing his Department is undertaking to attract nurses from abroad to work in the NHS.

John Hutton: The Department has agreements with the Governments of the Philippines, Spain, Indonesia and India to recruit nurses into the national nealth service. Our embassies market nursing campaigns through websites, conferences and advertising.
	In addition, project leads based in the United Kingdom co-ordinate advertising and marketing.
	The Department has developed a website, www. nursinguk.nhs.uk, aimed at supporting nurses from abroad who wish to come and work in the NHS.
	Information on how to apply independently to the NHS, together with information about registration is available on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/HumanResourcesAndTraining/MoreStaff/fs/en.

Obesity

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to reduce the incidence of obesity-related illness and death.

Melanie Johnson: The Government are concerned at the impact of obesity on health and are committed to addressing the current trend in both children and adults. Prevention and management of obesity is already at the heart of the Government's priority areas, including coronary heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
	The Government launched their major consultation on public health this month. The Public Health White Paper will provide the overarching framework for all Government efforts to improve public health. The consultation will enable a wide range of stakeholders to contribute to the debate on overweight and obesity. The consultation will also take account of the recommendations from Derek Wanless recent report "Securing Good Health for the Whole Population". The Government will draw up their White Paper in the light of the consultation . This will present real opportunities to progress work on the prevention and management of overweight and obesity. A planned obesity summit will form an important part of the consultation process. Work has already started through the food and health action plan and the activity co-ordination team, which will be of direct relevance to the prevention and management of obesity.
	Locally, primary care trusts as local providers and commissioners of services will determine the most appropriate methods to deliver health care to their populations, based on clinical need and effectiveness, as well as local circumstance, drawing on the available evidence. Under the new general medical services contract from April 2004 practices will be required to offer consultation for chronic disease and related health problems (such as obesity), offer relevant health promotion advice to patients and refer patients to other treatment that may be necessary.
	There are 10 specialised obesity clinics for adults and seven for children in England. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence's guidance on drugs and surgery is already available. NICE, collaborating with the Health Development Agency, have been tasked by the Department of Health to develop guidance on the identification, prevention and management of obesity and maintenance of weight reduction, due in 2006.

Patients Choice Scheme

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the qualifying criteria are for patients who wish to take advantage of the patient choice scheme;
	(2)  how patients can opt into the patient choice scheme; and if he will list the hospitals in the South East which take on patients under that scheme for each category of treatment;
	(3)  how many patients have taken advantage of the patient choice scheme to reduce treatment waiting time.

John Hutton: The London patient choice project and the cardiac choice project offer choice of treatment in an alternative hospital to clinically appropriate patients waiting longer than six months for surgery in the specialties of ophthalmology, orthopaedics, general surgery, ear, nose and throat, urology and cardiac surgery.
	In both schemes, eligible patients are contacted by a patient care adviser and offered choice of hospital and appointment.
	The cardiac choice scheme is a national scheme which started in July 2002. Since then, 6,089 patients have been offered choice and 3,034, or 51 per cent., have opted for treatment elsewhere.
	The London patient choice project is a pan-London scheme which started in October 2002. Since then, 17,133 patients have been offered choice and 10,850, or 63 per cent., have chosen to have treatment at another hospital.
	There are seven other choice pilots in England but these are not routinely monitored.
	Hospitals in the South East (defined here as London, the South East and East Anglia) which can take patients under the cardiac choice scheme are:
	National health service trusts
	Papworth Hospital NHS Trust
	Barts and the London NHS Trust
	Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Trust
	Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust
	King's College Hospital NHS Trust
	Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust
	St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust
	St. Mary's NHS Trust
	University College London Hospitals NHS Trust
	Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust
	Oxford Radcliffe Hospital NHS Trust
	Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust
	UK independent sector hospitals
	BMI London Independent
	BUPA Cambridge
	BUPA Chalybeate, Southampton
	HCA Harley Street Clinic
	HCA London Bridge Hospital
	HCA Wellington Hospital
	King Edward VII Hospital, Midhurst, Sussex.
	There are a number of hospitals outside of the South East which can also take patients under the cardiac choice scheme.
	Hospitals in London which can take patients under the London patient choice scheme are:
	National health service trusts
	Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust
	Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust
	Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust
	Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Trust
	Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust
	King's College Hospital NHS Trust
	Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust
	Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust
	Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Trust
	North West London Hospitals NHS Trust
	Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust
	St Mary's NHS Trust
	University College London Hospital NHS Trust
	UK independent sector hospitals
	HCA Lister
	HCA Portland
	HCA Princess Grace.

Pest Infestations

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pest infestations he estimates there were in NHS hospitals in each year since 1996 in (a) England and (b) each strategic health authority.

John Hutton: The information requested is not collected centrally. It is for individual national health service hospitals to make their own arrangements to deal with, or otherwise ensure the prevention of, pest infestations.
	The NHS has recently been reminded of the need to ensure that proper control procedures are in place. Action Area Three (Reducing Reservoirs of Infection) of "Winning Ways", the Chief Medical Officer's Report on measures to tackle healthcare associated infections, requires that
	"all healthcare settings should aim to eradicate pests such as rats, mice, ants, cockroaches pigeons and flies".

Physiotherapists

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many vacancies there were for physiotherapists in each NHS region in each year since 1999.

John Hutton: Information on the number of physiotherapy vacancies lasting three months or more is shown in the table. As at March 2003, there were 671 such vacancies in England, which equates to a rate of 4.7 per cent., a fall from 5.2 per cent. the year before.
	
		NHS hospital and community health services: Three month vacancies for qualified physiotherapy staff in Government Office Regions and England as at 31March each specified year -- Three month vacancy numbers
		
			  1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 England 425 512 655 715 671 
			 North East 12 27 31 56 25 
			 North West 63 78 78 64 45 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 33 40 62 81 70 
			 East Midlands 27 31 40 61 38 
			 West Midlands 69 66 84 93 71 
			 East Of England 53 75 57 43 98 
			 London 98 101 164 180 175 
			 South East 48 74 107 77 107 
			 South West 21 19 32 62 42 
		
	
	Notes:
	Three month vacancy information is as at 31 March 2003.
	Three month vacancies are vacancies which trusts are actively trying to fill, which had lasted for three months or more (whole time equivalents).
	Source:
	Department of Health Vacancies Survey, March 2003.

Pulmonary Disease

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidelines on the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in primary and secondary care; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether, following the recommendations by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, he will make it a priority for all hospitals and general practitioner surgeries to have access to (a) a spirometer and (b) adequate training in the use of spirometry;
	(3)  what steps he will take following the recommendations by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to ensure that all patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have access to a multidisciplinary healthcare team;
	(4)  whether, following the recommendations by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, he will make it a priority for all hospitals and general practitioner surgeries to have access to non-invasive ventilation for the treatment of people with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease;
	(5)  if, following the recommendations by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, he will provide funding for pulmonary rehabilitation courses to run in every hospital for all patients who consider themselves functionally disabled by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Stephen Ladyman: pursuant to his reply, 5 March 2004, c. 1167–68W
	I regret that my previous response was incorrect, and should have read as follows.
	As part of our commitment to improve services for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) we commissioned the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) to prepare clinical guidelines for the National Health Service in England and Wales for the prevention, diagnosis, management and treatment of COPD. These guidelines were published on 25 February.
	Now that the guidelines have been published primary care trusts, in partnership with local stakeholders, will decide what local service improvements need to be made. They have the responsibility for deciding what services to provide for their populations, including those with COPD and other respiratory diseases. They are best placed to understand local health needs and commission services to meet them.
	The NHS is currently receiving the largest sustained increase in funding in its history. The total of PCT allocations for the next three years are £45 billion for 2003–04, £49.3 billion for 2004–05 and £53.9 billion for 2005–06. This represents an increase of £12.7 billion or an average of 30.8 per cent. over the three years 2003–04 to 2005–06. PCTs will use these allocations to implement local service improvements, which may include NICE's recommendations on COPD.

Radiographers

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many radiographers there were in the UK in each year since 1990 in terms of (a) whole-time equivalents and (b) the total employed.

John Hutton: The available information is shown in the table. Between 1997 and 2002, the number of radiographers by headcount employed in the national health service has increased by 11 per cent. Whole-time equivalent radiographers have increased by 10 per cent.
	
		NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified radiography staff in England by area of work as at 30September each specified year -- whole-time equivalent
		
			  Diagnostic radiographers Therapeutic radiographers 
		
		
			 1990 (60)— 1,206 
			 1991 7,539 1,139 
			 1992 7,777 1,152 
			 1993 (60)— 1,186 
			 1994 7,989 1,190 
			 1995 8,065 1,056 
			 1996 8,527 1,174 
			 1997 8,626 1,275 
			 1998 8,860 1,333 
			 1999 9,009 1,358 
			 2000 9,169 1,309 
			 2001 9,264 1,391 
			 2002 9,489 1,374 
			
			   headcount 
			 1990 (60)— 1,296 
			 1991 8,891 1,243 
			 1992 9,210 1,267 
			 1993 (60)— 1,320 
			 1994 9,520 1,323 
			 1995 10,294 1,252 
			 1996 10,265 1,308 
			 1997 10,364 1,407 
			 1998 10,645 1,473 
			 1999 10,839 1,491 
			 2000 11,036 1,453 
			 2001 11,163 1,543 
			 2002 11,489 1,542 
		
	
	(60) not available
	Note:
	A new classification of the non-medical workforce was introduced in 1995. Information based on this classification is not directly comparable with earlier years.
	Source:
	Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census

Recruitment Advertising

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's expenditure on recruitment advertising was in each of the last three years, broken down by publication; and what proportion of such expenditure was (a) to advertise vacant posts and (b) in the form of other general recruitment advertising.

Rosie Winterton: Figures for advertising vacant posts are shown in the table.
	
		
			 Year (1 April to 31 March) Recruitment budget spend (£) 
		
		
			 2003 to date 146,331.25 
			 2002–03 345,229.15 
		
	
	The figures shown in the table do not include the Department's agencies. Figures prior to the year 2002–03 are not available.
	The figures for general recruitment advertising are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Expenditure (£ million) 
		
		
			 2001–02 5 
			 2002–03 4.3 
			 2003–04 4.9 (estimated) 
		
	
	Details of where advertisements are placed are not centrally recorded, and can be provided only at disproportionate cost. Where advertisements are placed will depend on the nature of the vacancies or target audience.
	The Department has a robust external recruitment policy which complies with the rules and requirements of "Minister's Rules for Selection", "The Civil Service Order in Council", Treasury and equal opportunity and employment protection legislation.

Recruitment Advertising

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on recruitment advertising in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for North Tayside (Pete Wishart) today.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Huw Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recommendations he has received from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence on making Humira available on prescription in the NHS in England for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has not yet been asked to produce any guidance on Humira for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis but the suitability of Humira for referral to NICE is under consideration.

Saxon Square Health Centre

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 26 February 2004, Official Report, columns 555–56W, on Saxon Square Health Centre (Christchurch), for what reasons it is not in the best interests of the NHS for further negotiations to be held immediately with the head leaseholder; with which NHS trust negotiations are taking place for a transfer of the leasehold; when discussions began; and when he expects them to conclude.

John Hutton: holding answer 5 March 2004
	The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch National Health Service Trust has expressed an interest to occupy this health centre.
	Negotiations with the trust commenced in October 2003 and they will be completed as soon as possible. Progress is dependent on the costs to be incurred by the trust to occupy these offices.
	Where property is held on a lease, it is usual that the head lessee will only be approached when a fully appraised proposal has been prepared.

School Nurses

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many school nurse whole-time equivalents were employed in each of the primary care trusts in Greater London for each of the last five years.

John Hutton: The information requested is not held centrally.

Sexual Health

Phil Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of sexually transmitted diseases were treated by the NHS in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Melanie Johnson: Information on the number of cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) treated by the national health service is not routinely collected. However, data is collected on the number of diagnoses of STIs made in genito-urinary medicine clinics. These are shown in the table for the years 1992 to 2002.
	
		Number of diagnoses of sexually transmitted diseases made in genito-urinary medicine clinics in England: 1992 to 2002
		
			  Male Female Total 
		
		
			 1992 177,064 195,218 372,282 
			 1993 170,520 193,286 363,806 
			 1994 178,866 212,010 390,876 
			 1995 196,943 231,567 428,510 
			 1996 202,465 249,438 451,903 
			 1997 216,916 264,976 481,892 
			 1998 228,963 277,945 506,908 
			 1999 242,087 291,703 533,790 
			 2000 260,899 309,173 570,072 
			 2001 277,636 331,090 608,726 
			 2002 295,411 348,988 644,399 
		
	
	Source:
	KC60 statutory returns from GUM clinics.

Sexual Health

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to encourage best practice in sexual health promotion among vulnerable communities in London.

John Hutton: Primary care trusts (PCTs) provide sexual health promotion services which meet the needs of their local populations. To support them in this role, in 2003, the Department published good practice guidance for use by PCTs and others on both the commissioning of sexual health services and effective sexual health promotion. These documents include guidance on working with communities most at risk of poor sexual health and HIV. In addition, the Department undertakes nationally funded sexual health promotion, targeting those groups most at risk of HIV, including activities in the London area.
	A joint project by the five London strategic health authorities is on-going to develop a framework for modernising sexual health services across London.

Sexual Health

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to increase awareness of sexually transmitted diseases among (a) heterosexual and (b) homosexual males.

Melanie Johnson: Through the Department's sexual health promotion work, we are raising public awareness of sexual health nationally through activities such as the Sex Lottery campaign. This targets 18 to 30-year-olds in raising awareness of sexually transmitted infections. Campaign materials include those specifically targeting young men, such as ambient materials in pubs and clubs (including men's washrooms) and advertisements in men's magazines.
	The Department is funding the Men's Health Forum to investigate men's perception and attitudes towards chlamydia, the most common sexually transmitted infection, and to identify the best ways to target men (both with information and for screening).
	The Department is also currently committing £1 million a year to support the Medical Research Council's sexual health and HIV research programme. Men at increased risk of sexually transmitted infections and HIV are a focus of a number of existing projects, and will be highlighted in future calls for new research, under this programme.
	Gay and bisexual men are identified in the sexual health strategy as one of the groups disproportionately affected by poor sexual health. For these men, the Department contracts the Terrence Higgins Trust to undertake targeted sexual health promotion and HIV prevention, in partnership with community based organisations across the country.
	In addition to this national work, primary care trusts are responsible for meeting the sexual health needs of their local populations. The sexual health promotion toolkit (2003) provides guidance and practical advice to those working in the field of sexual health promotion. It includes specific tips and good practice for working with men of all ages to ensure that they are proactively targeted and services are open and welcoming to men.

Smoking

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 7 January 2004, Official Report, column 398W, on smoking, when he will publish the findings of the research on the success of the NHS Stop Smoking Service.

Melanie Johnson: The Department of Health commissioned a team led by Glasgow University to carry out a comprehensive evaluation of the impact and effectiveness of the national health services stop smoking services.
	The first results of this evaluation were published in September 2003. "Bauld L et al. Impact of UK national health service smoking cessation services: variations in outcomes in England. Tobacco Control 2003; 12:296–301". The key finding was that "Well-developed, evidence-based NHS services, reflecting good practice, are yielding positive outcomes." The final results of the studies are due to be published in autumn 2004.
	A copy of the research has been placed in the Library.

Sudden Death (Cardiac Conditions)

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action is being taken to offer treatment to people of all ages who are susceptible to sudden death due to underlying cardiac conditions that if not treated may result in a fatal cardiac arrhythmia.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 9 March 2004
	The Government are committed to ensuring further improvements in these services and are discussing this matter with my hon. Friend the Member for Stockton, South (Ms Taylor) in the context of the Cardiac Risk in the Young (Screening) Bill, which is due for second reading on Friday 12 March.

Surgical Instruments (Reuse)

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish his Department's guidance on the reuse of surgical instruments after brain biopsies.

Melanie Johnson: Guidance on the reuse of surgical instruments after brain procedures, including biopsy, on patients known to have, or be at risk of CJD is already published in "Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy agents: safe working and the prevention of infection". This guidance, endorsed by the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens, is available at the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/ PolicyAndGuidance/HealthAndSocialCareTopics/CJD/CJDGeneralInformation/CJDGeneralArticle/fs/en?CONTENT ID=4031067&chk=4gOe2r. A copy is also available in the Library.

Waiting Lists/Times

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the last average in-patient waiting time for (a) England, (b) each region and (c) strategic health authority for each year since 1996.

John Hutton: The table shows average (median) waiting times for elective inpatient admissions.
	
		Average (median) waiting times for elective in-patient admission: England and strategic health authorities: position at 31December 2003
		
			 England/SHA Median waiting times (months) 
		
		
			 England 2.59 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire HA 2.67 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire HA 2.75 
			 Essex HA 2.64 
			 North West London HA 2.46 
			 North Central London HA 2.70 
			 North East London HA 2.73 
			 South East London HA 2.55 
			 South West London HA 2.55 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 2.46 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 2.65 
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire HA 2.58 
			 West Yorkshire HA 2.52 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire HA 2.52 
			 Greater Manchester HA 2.42 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside HA 2.39 
			 Thames Valley HA 2.40 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight HA 2.81 
			 Kent and Medway HA 3.39 
			 Surrey and Sussex HA 2.74 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire HA 2.90 
			 South West Peninsula HA 3.08 
			 Somerset and Dorset HA 2.33 
			 South Yorkshire HA 2.42 
			 Trent HA 2.40 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland HA 2.56 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire HA 2.68 
			 Birmingham and The Black Country HA 2.09 
			 Coventry, Warwickshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire HA 2.61 
		
	
	Note:
	The figures shown are estimates based on aggregate data, categorised into waiting time bands, and do not reflect shifts in the waiting time profiles within these bands, only between bands. The median is not very sensitive to reductions in maximum waiting times, and it is possible to see a rise in the median, whilst reducing maximum waiting times because of shifts in low time bands. Short-term progress on delivering maximum waiting times (including tackling the longest waiters) will not necessarily translate into a reduction in the median waiting time. Our policy, therefore, is to focus attention on the number of patients waiting the longest, and in each waiting time band.
	Source:
	Department of Health form QF01.
	For information on average waiting times for previous years I refer the hon. Member to the response I gave on 4 February 2004, Official Report, column 977W.

Work Force Census

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the publication date of the report on NHS hospital and community health services non-medical work force census, England: 30 September 2003—detailed results as stated on his Department's website was put back from 26 February to 19 March.

John Hutton: Publication was deferred in order to be more helpful to people using the data by publishing detailed information, which would not otherwise have been ready, on the same day as summary information.

Yellow Card Scheme

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will extend the yellow card reporting scheme to allow narrative testimonies from patients.

Melanie Johnson: The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is piloting a scheme to allow patients to report suspected adverse drug reaction via NHS Direct. Patients in the catchment area of the South East London NHS Direct site are currently able to contact NHS Direct to report suspected adverse drug reactions, and the scheme is to be extended to other NHS Direct sites in due course.
	Following an increase in the number of requests for access to Yellow Card data, an independent review is being undertaken by Dr. Jeremy Metters. The steering committee, set up to assist the review, has consulted widely with key stakeholders. The review is considering whether there can be improved involvement of patients in the scheme, which may include enabling patients to report suspected adverse drug reactions to the MHRA directly. The results of the review are expected to be published later this year.

York District Hospital

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the children's assessment and treatment area at York District Hospital will be opened.

Melanie Johnson: This is a local matter for York Hospitals National Health Service Trust.